Subjects of concern: troubling categories

Nursing is described by many as ‘practice based’: an appealing and irresistible phrase, a salve for professional self-doubt, and a position that has great utility when communicating the essence of nursing to others outside the profession. Yet this is also a political position, situated in a particular configuration of relationships, identities and histories. Nursing is a practice-based profession, but it is certainly not unique in this respect. To refuse intellectually diverse scrutiny on the premise that this is somehow incompatible with the ‘art’ of nursing and a ‘practical’ closeness to the patient cannot be defended.