In the world of healthcare, nursing has long struggled to establish itself as a profession. Dictionary terms describe nursing as “a calling requiring specialized knowledge and often long and intensive academic preparation; a principal calling, vocation, or employment; the whole body of persons engaged in a calling.”1Throughout the history of nursing, unfavorable stereotypes (based on the view of nursing as subservient and dependent on the medical profession) have negatively affected the view of nursing as an independent entity. In its early developmental years, nursing did not seek or have the means to control its own practice. Florence Nightingale, in discussing the nature of nursing in 1859, observed that “nursing has been limited to signify little more than the administration of medicines and the application of poultices.”2 Although this attitude may still persist to some degree, the nursing profession has defined what makes nursing unique and identified a body of professional knowledge. As early as 1896, nurses in America banded together to seek standardization of educational programs and laws governing their practice. The task of nursing since that time has been to create descriptive terminology reflecting not only specific nursing functions but also levels of competency.3 Erickson, Tomlin, and Swain believe “Nursing will thrive as a unique and valued profession when nurses present a theory and rationalistic model for their practice, correct misleading stereotypes, locate control with clients, and actively participate in processes for change.