title: The elusive profession called nursing.
abstract: As a discipline, nursing continues the struggle to be recognized by others as a profession. Despite the fact that nursing has a unique body of knowledge with theory, scientific inquiry, practice, and a code of ethics, the litmus test for defining the profession remains elusive. The discipline is not valued. Much of the struggle is in part due to the criteria developed by non- nurses regarding what the nursing profession should be, not what it truly is.
authors.affiliation: Director of the Institute of Nursing Education, Emergency Nurses Association, Desplaines, IL pmkarnick@aol.com.
authors.forename: Paula M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Karnick
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D009729:Nursing; D009742:Nursing Theory; D000068616:Professionalism
keywords: nursing; profession; valuing