“…The vertical and horizontal differentiation, which accelerated in recent years within the profession, begs questions about the definition of areas of knowledge and the care practices. Whereas the vertical differentiation (multiplication of training and career paths) to which more academic education contributes can generate tensions between different nursing profiles (Chaves, 2005;Ayala, Gerard, Vanderstraeten, & Bracke, 2014), horizontal differentiation (multiplication of institutions employing nurses due to the raise of ambulatory care) produces different conceptions of the profession, such as the varied means used in the struggle for its autonomy (Longchamp et al, 2020). These transformations are occurring within a context where professional borders are being redrawn under the influence of factors like increasing numbers of women doctors (Picot, 2005), shorter average lengths of hospital stay (Acker, 2005), and impregnated by neoliberal reforms of the healthcare sector in OECD countries (Pierru, 2008).…”