The art of nursing

It is a common assumption that nursing is an art. Art in this sense is sometimes taken to mean a fine art, and sometimes a skill or craft. This paper reviews some of the arguments for nursing as an art and concludes that nursing is not a fine art, but that it is an art in the more general sense of a craft or skill performed by people. It is further argued that, in most instances, to say that nursing is an art tells us little or nothing that is useful and the word ‘art’ is redundant in this context.