The identity of the female nurse: A reflection from the perspective of Dubar

Abstract

Background: Studies on professional identity constitute a challenge for research and instigates many considerations. Objective: To reflect on the process of construction of the professional identity of the female nurse according to Florence Nightingale, a precursor of modern nursing in the world. Key topics under analysis: Theoretical reflection which focuses on two seminal works written by Florence Nightingale: “Notes on Hospitals” (1859), and “Notes on Nursing: what it is and what it is not” (1860), based on the concepts of Claude Dubar about professional identity. Conclusion: The studies pointed out that the professional identity of the nightingalean nurse was shaped in the hospital, stemming from the knowledge and practice of the principles of care and administration, oriented by discipline, defined by Nightingale. They showed that, by implementing her education model, Nightingale caused a detachment from the identity legitimized by religious orders of that period, which may have contributed to the (re/ de)construction of the professional identity of female nurses.