The work of nursing

Abstract

In this chapter nursing work will be explored as a complex series of intimate, interactive processes and interventions which not only influence health and illness states but are also charged with symbolic meaning for health workers, patients and lay people. We will explore how far sociological theories and concepts can shed light on the development and contemporary character of nursing work and consider what they have to say about the relationships between nurses and other health professionals, in particular doctors. The nursing workforce is the largest in the health service, and a case study of nursing work provides a useful illustration of the major issues and conflicts noted in Chapter 11. While nursing is a particular occupation, it also has characteristics, knowledge frameworks and underpinning values which are common to other groups in health work. Nurses’ changing experiences of caring work and relationships with patients, their professional culture and socialisation, their occupational struggles and bid for autonomy will find echoes in the experience of other health work professionals, such as physiotherapists, occupational and speech therapists, radiographers and chiropodists.