---

The photography taken is meant to show how the nurse connects with and cares for the patient. During the span of a nursing career, a nurse will care for patients from the very young to the aged and will include various ethnicities. As the person is cared for, each encounter will include physical touch. As nursing moves into the future, it often looks back to “capture” the essence of nursing. What does the history of nursing show us? It has shown us that as technology improves, we can offer those we care for new and innovative ways overcome and cope with illness. Technology is not nursing, but is an adjunct to the care we provide. Underlying all technology is the nurse, who will continue to offer caring and touch as the cornerstone of nursing practice. I began photographing in December 2004 after discussing the idea with several colleagues. I believe that a nurse's hands are an instrument of caring and therefore I chose to photograph hands. Each photograph is of a nurse's hand holding another hand, depicting a variety of patients. While creating this portfolio of photographs, I felt that I was documenting the career of a nurse who has touched so many lives in the more than 30 years she practiced. The completed work has sparked discussions regarding what nursing really was, is and may become in the future. Though each nurse will not care for the same patients over the course of a career, each nurse will touch the lives of many. Both 35mm format and digital photography was used to create the portfolio.