INDUSTRIAL-ACTION BY NURSES - THE ITALIAN SITUATION

Those who want to know anything about strike action by Italian nurses will find very little written about it. This contribution intends to s how that, whatever they are prepared to admit, Italian nurses are not used to strike action because they mostly think of their profession as a form of mission. Even if we could agree with the idea of nursing as a profession subscribing to an ideal of service, we have to distingui sh between a real profession and philanthropic work; vocational motiva tion is not enough to make a goad professional. Historically, nurses p erceived strikes as contradictory to human need and action; patients m ust never be left alone. However, Italian nurses are nosy interested i n a dramatic transformation of many aspects of their professional life , becoming conscious of the duty to protect themselves from every kind of exploitation, even if the typical idealism and dedication of nurse s makes them vulnerable.