The virtue of nursing: the covenant of care

It is argued that the current confusion about the role and pur-pose of the British nurse is a consequence of the modern rejection and consequent fragm entation of the inherited nursing tradition. The nature of this tradition, in which nurses were inducted into the,moral virtues of care, is examined a nd its relevance to patient welfare is demonstrated. Practical suggestions are made as to how this moral tradition might be reappropriated and reinvig orated for modern nursing.