This document discusses the characteristics of a profession and analyzes whether nursing meets those characteristics. It outlines that a profession typically has control over its own work, a specialized body of knowledge requiring extensive training, and self-regulation. While nursing has many of these traits as an emerging profession, it still has room for growth in areas like establishing a single credentialing system and achieving full autonomy in all work settings. The document then categorizes characteristics as intellectual, involving a theoretical knowledge base, specialized education, and critical thinking; personal, regarding autonomy; and interpersonal, through therapeutic collaboration.