The shifting foundations of nursing

SummaryIn this paper we argue that the concerns generated by the development of Foundation Degrees and the Assistant and Associate Practitioner roles have rekindled some of the unresolved debates regarding the status and identity of nursing and nurses. Through the application of the sociological theories of professionalisation and nostalgia we have identified the shifting and unresolved nature of nursing. We argue that these theories continue to have resonance in the current climate of change and ‘upskilling’ of the health care workforce and argue, that the shifts illuminated are perhaps so significant as to demonstrate that we have entered a post-nursing era.