Nursing is like a symphony. Its voice is distinct from all its contributing fields of study, not because it is a different instrument but because it brings them all together in a synergy; greater than the sum of its parts. Unlike the traditional understanding of a profession, which focuses entirely on mastering a single instrument, Nursing seeks to become competent in playing many instruments, composing a beautiful song, and conducting the instruments together in harmony. This is why it is so difficult to explain what nursing is.

But nursing isn’t the only smash-up.

Industrial/Organizational psychology emerged when social psychologists wanted to blend a number of other psychological approaches and apply them to the workplace environment. A clinical psychologist friend of mind does not recognize I/O psychology as a legitimate branch of psychology.

Implementation science formed slowly over decades as a multidisciplinary group of helping professionals realized they were all working on similar problems. This gritty band of scholar-practitioners refused to accept that healthcare was doomed to be 17 years behind the current research. As they work to grow their body of knowledge, training programs are springing up all over the country.

Social work and public health are interdisciplinary professions that arose as unique solutions to a changing socioeconomic landscape.

The nursing profession took shape as a response to society’s need for a bridge between the laboratory and the real world, which demands relationally responsive, highly contextualized application of technical skills. A result that is only possible from a creator who belongs to many worlds and speaks many languages.

Nurses have traveled to many sciences and humanities, lived among the people there, learned to speak their languages and see the world through their eyes. Now, we facilitate music between them, influence the melody toward equity, sustainability, safety, and quality, and connect our communities to the song.

Nurses are not distinct from other health disciplines because we are a singular and separate voice. We are distinct because we embody parts of all of them.