Ontological congruence, discipline and academic identity in university schools of nursing

Abstract Nursing is an old vocation but relatively new to the academy, with schools of nursing being established in Western universities late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Their establishment was presaged by earlier moves preparation pre-registration nurses from apprenticeships served hospitals tertiary education institutions (mainly community colleges polytechnics) during last quarter century. Preparation for a life professions has been feature since their inception. Nevertheless, changing university’s offerings contested, disciplines academics within them often struggle establish legitimacy academy. This paper challenges contemporary accounts as discipline weak disciplinary boundaries which undermine its place academy hamper nurse academics’ development academic identity. Drawing on data interviews academics, discusses ways participants are, own actions, devising, amending reinforcing structures, code, rules conceptual frameworks discipline. It also considers how, they do so, these achieve level ontological congruence that only possible internal biography, nature day-to-day work expectations employer are able ‘rub along’ together without creating conditions (self) destructive resistance or exercise coercive institutional power.