Nursing as Metaphor

Abstract

For some time now we have been curious about the reactions of people we meet socially to being told, "I am a nurse." First reactions to this statement include the comment, "I never met a nurse socially before"; stories about the person's latest hospitalization, surgery, or childbearing experiences; the question "How can you bear handling bedpans (vomit, blood)?" or the remark, "I think I need another drink." We believe the statements reflect the fact that nursing evokes disturbing and discomforting images that many educated, middle-class, upwardly mobile Americans find difficult to handle in a social situation. As nurses, we are . . .