Nursing professionalism

  Harrison Marshall has returned to school to complete his bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) after working several years as a financial planner for a large company. At a social gathering with some of his former colleagues, one of them challenged Harrison's decision to become a nurse, making comments about lower earning potential and status, and even suggested that Harrison was "wasting his time" in becoming a nurse when he could have had a "real profession" in business or medicine. Although Harrison was angered by these insulting comments, he decided not to respond to them. Consider these questions: What is Harrison's best argument that nursing is a profession? What may have influenced his former colleague's thinking about nursing? What challenges remain in nursing being recognized as a profession? Why is it important that nursing is recognized as a profession?