ABSTRACT
Many nurses bemoan the difficult working conditions and feelings of underappreciation by management, and look around at activities that seem to confer greater control, free from the restrictions and demands placed on formal sector employees. Consequently, work remains a crucial source of value, while also being dislodged as a dominant mode of belonging. In this chapter, the author considers this argument in relation to the wider context of the middle classes in South Africa and globally. She explores in turn two elements of professional aspiration that have featured centrally in this book: that of accumulation, in terms of income and status, a project that has become highly precarious; and that of care, which is also a fragile and at times fraught endeavour. The author also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
