Introduction

Nurse researchers frequently employ concepts that originated or have undergone subsequent development in the social sciences; nurse educators make extensive use of ideas derived from sociology; and clinical practitioners justify actions using socialised vocabularies. However, while a great deal of consideration is given to, for example, methods and methodologies, substantially less interest is shown in social and sociological theory. Nurses habitually employ terminology and back ground assumptions that emanate from or can be tied to these theories. Yet the demonstrable and latent capacity of social and sociological theory to guide, shape and inform research, education and practice receives less overt attention. This is puzzling.