Abstract

In this paper we propose to trace the historical and epistemological causes of the social construction of the image of nursing in pandemics by COVID-19, where the heroic and vocational attributes of its praxis hide the scientific and technological ones. To do so, we will begin by showing how "empirical" knowledge was historically contrasted with biomedical theoretical knowledge, medical technological praxis with the "art of caring", under a hierarchization of the professions on traditional gender roles. We will then demonstrate the ways in which the romanticized image of nursing manifested itself so far during the pandemic, not only consolidating the status quo of the profession but also deepening it, by emphasizing a heroic attitude of those "on the front line of battle" as opposed to the physicians who made the decisions. Finally, we will analyze epistemologically what nursing theorists understand by "nursing praxis" in order to elucidate what is and is not visible in the constituted image of the profession.