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Nursing has changed considerably over the years. The image of nursing is formulated in many ways by the public, the media, inter-professional colleagues and nurses themselves. In nursing, image is the impression the nurse makes in the course of nurse-patient interaction. The image of nursing is vital to the profession, necessary in today‘s changing workplace, and an important concept for future nurses to understand.

Importantly, individual nurses in Nigeria have made a lot of effort to project their image but there is much to be done to collectively reposition the current image of nursing profession to where it ought to be when compared with its counterparts in other nations. Most of the times, nurses are not perceived in the manner they wish to be; their image appears to be blemished, as witnessed by the many negative messages in the media and the number of complaints about nurses received by employers or verbalized by the recipient of health care. Though efforts to improve on the image of Nigerian nurses (embrace of university education, research, and politics, providing quality care etc.) are ongoing and deserves commendation, the profession has not been accorded the prestigious place she deserves in the society. Hence, nursing professional image needs more, and we need it now. The time for nurses to re-define their image is now; nurses‘ actions, attires, methods of telling our story, of care delivery and of how they present themselves to the public are important in changing the image of nursing. By working together, nurses can help themselves and the public see the nursing profession clearly. Nurses should therefore take advantage of the university education, strive and lobby to be integrated into public policy development and decision making at all levels of health care organizations and in the government; conduct themselves positively and convey to the public that they are expert clinicians who recognize the value of caring, collaboration, health promotion, health education and provision of patient and family centered care and good communication skills. These opportunities allow nurses to represent the reality of nursing and to show how the profession contributes to health care. Re-branding the image of nursing in Nigeria is a top priority and the time is now; as a positive image would create a sense of pride and fulfillment in what nurses do and improve their worth to the very people for whom they care.