This paper
discusses the importance of higher education to the nursing profession. The paper explores the history of nursing,
which reveals how the nursing practice has struggled to establish a professional status. The paper presents and
discusses Florence Nightingale, Mary Seacole, and various nursing associations, explaining that, thanks to them, nurses can practice nursing with pride, dignity, and
professionalism. The paper contends that each individual nurse has the responsibility to model nursing with professionalism and to continually challenge him/herself to become better educated.