This book discusses current problems in social theory and society, placing nurses and their work at the centre of the analysis. Three essential components of sociology for nurses are synthesized and applied: the sociological imagination and methods in nursing and health service research; the sociology and politics of nursing as an occupation, and the sociology of medicine and illness with special reference to urban poverty and health provison. This book draws together these different strands and sub-specialisms, applying research and analysis to the problems confronting modern nursing in the current UK context.