ABSTRACT
NURSES A nurse is a trained medical professional who cares for the sick, injured, and physically or mentally disabled. The nurse performs this work in a wide variety of settings and circumstances, ranging from the institutional environment of a hospital, nursing home, factory, or school to the more informal environment of the patient’s home. The designation of nurse is applied to individuals representing a broad spectrum of training and education; the field therefore encompasses distinct subgroups. Like other fields in modern biomedicine, nursing has become highly specialized. Yet, with an occupational identity unique in hospital folklife, nurses refer to
their cultural heritage in common training, distinctive dress, and feminine social composition.
