<p>Nursing knowledge covers those aspects of knowledge that are relevant to nursing. The types of knowledge in nursing are many and varied; the generation of knowledge therefore becomes complex. Nurses need to go beyond traditional ways of understanding nursing to redefine nursing knowledge. This could determine the nature of the profession in the 21st century. Nursing must explore new ways of thinking about and explaining the profession–there will always be new directions to take and new avenues to explore.</p>