A discourse analysis of debates surrounding the entry of nursing into higher education in Ireland

Background It was only at the start of the 21st century that the nursing profession in Ireland gained full entry to the academy, joining the ranks of the graduate professions in healthcare. Up to that time, the system of professional training of nurses in Ireland was based on the apprenticeship-training model. Aim This paper critically analyses discourses opposing advanced educational preparation for nurses and the entry of nursing to higher education in order to reveal the discursive work they perform. Methods The study analyses historical and contemporary texts using a critical discursive approach. Findings The study uncovers common themes and continuities embedded in discourses concerning the role of the nurse and nurses’ professional training. Through professional and popular debate, a particular and enduring set of images of the nurse was constructed, which was antithetical to the idea of a nurse receiving professional training in the academy. The debate was conducted by doctors, journalists, public officials, and by nurses, some of whom were ambivalent or even hostile to the notion of the educated nurse. Much of the debate concerned the role of the nurse and the relationship between knowledge/intelligence and practice/caring. Conclusions As outsiders looking into the academy, nurses were required to justify their case for entry into higher education against a discursive backcloth that constructed a dichotomy between the mental and the manual and positioned nursing as a practical and commonsense occupation unworthy of academic study. In consequence, nursing was and continues to be challenged to expose, resist and counter the values and assumptions embedded in this backcloth as they strive to establish, maintain and consolidate their foothold in academia.