A distinctive profession? Building professional identity and knowledge for intellectual disability nursing education.

Intellectual disability nursing students can struggle to build a professional identity and make sense of their extensive curriculum and its application to practice. In this article Legitimation Code Theory (LCT) and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) are used to facilitate an examination of the organising principles underlying intellectual disability nursing and the relationships agents construct between intellectual disability and other nursing divisions. In particular this paper explores the relationship with general nursing, and examines the connections and boundaries that intellectual disability nursing builds with general nursing, and their implications.

Insights From Henri Nouwen for Intellectual Disability Nursing.

Henri Nouwen's writings provide opportunity for nurses, students, and educators to reflect on nursing in the context of Christian faith. This article offers insight from Nouwen's work and its relevance to intellectual disability nursing practice and education. Five themes are developed from Nouwen's insights: 1) the descending way, 2) insignificance and marginalization, 3) learning to support the person, 4) building relationship, and 5) trusting God will catch you.