Introduction It is often said that you do not know where you are going until you know where you have been. More than 40 years ago, Beletz ( 1974 ) wrote that most people thought of nurses in genderlinked, task-oriented terms: “a female who performs unpleasant technical jobs and functions as an assistant to the physician” (p. 432). Interestingly, physicians in the 1800s viewed nursing as a complement to medicine. According to Warrington ( 1839 ), “. . . the prescriptions of the best physician are useless unless they be timely and properly administered and attended to by the nurse” (p. iv). In its earliest years, most nursing care occurred at home. Even in 1791 when the fi rst hospital opened in Philadelphia, nurses continued to care for patients in their own home settings. It took almost another century before nursing moved into hospitals. Th ese institutions, mostly dominated by male physicians, promoted the idea that nurses acted as the “handmaidens” to the better-educated, more capable men in the medical fi eld. Th e level of care diff ered greatly in these early health-care institutions. Th ose operated by the religious nursing orders gave high-quality care to patients. In others, care varied greatly from good to almost none at all. Although the image of nurses and nursing has advanced considerably since then, some still think of nurses as helpers who carry out the physician ’ s orders. It comes as no surprise that nursing and health care have converged and reached a crossing point. Nurses face a new age for human experience; the very foundations of health practices and therapeutic interventions continue to be dramatically altered by signifi cantly transformed scientifi c, technological, cultural, political, and social realities ( Porter-O’Grady , 2003 ). Th e global environment needs nurses more than ever to meet the healthcare needs of all. Nursing sees itself as a profession rather than a job or vocation and continues with this quest for its place among the health-care disciplines. However, what defi nes a profession? What behaviors are expected from the members of the profession? Chapter 1 discusses nursing as a profession with its own identity and place within this new and ever-changing health-care system. Professionalism Defi nition of a Profession A vocation or calling defi nes “meaningful work” depending on an individual ’ s point of view ( Dik & Duff y, 2009 ). Nursing started as a vocation or “calling.” Until Nightingale, most nursing occurred through religious orders. To care for the ill and infi rmed was a duty ( Kalisch & Kalisch, 2004 ). In early years, despite the education required, nursing was considered a job or vocation ( Cardillo, 2013 ). Providing a defi nition for a “profession” or “professional” is not as easy as it appears. Th e term is used all the time; however, what characteristics defi ne a professional? According to Saks ( 2012 ), several theoretical approaches have been applied to creating a defi nition of a profession, the older of these looking only at knowledge and expertise, whereas later ones include a code of ethics, practice standards, licensure, and certifi cation, as well as expected behaviors ( Post, 2014 ). Nurses engage in specialized education and training confi rmed by successfully passing the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX ® ) and receiving a license to practice in each state. Nurses follow a code of ethics and recognized practice standards and a body of continuous research that forms and directs our practice. Nurses function autonomously within the designated scope of practice, formulating and delivering a plan of care for clients, applying judgments, and utilizing critical thinking skills in decision-making ( Cardillo, 2013 ). Professional Behaviors According to Post ( 2014 ), professional c