Nursing: the ontology of the discipline.

The purpose of this article is to contribute to clarifying the ontology of the discipline by extending existing meanings of the term nursing to propose a substantive definition. In this definition, nursing is viewed as an inherent human process of well-being, manifested by complexity and integration in human systems. The nature of this process and theoretical implications of the new nursing are presented. Nurses are invited to continue the dialogue about the meaning of the term and explore the implications of nursing, substantively defined, for their practice and science.