The normative consensus which makes community nursing possible in its present form has come under increasing strain in recent years. Collectivist and individualist criticisms have grown in strength but these are equally antithetical to the Edwardian compromise between family liberties and state supervision which created community nursing and has dominated its organization and practice for 70 years. These critics imply either the extinction of community nursing or its transformation into a social police. If the status quo is indeed worth protecting, community nurses may need more aggressively to defend the moral and political values embodied in their work rather than presenting it as a purely technical matter.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Robert Dingwall (1982) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched one closely related paper. Consider it for comparative context: