The healing role of nurses has been undervalued and undeveloped for a long time. A literature review of nurses and healing reveals the fears and frustration generations of women healers and nurses experienced as they strived to practice their art. The current nursing shortage reflects the toxicity of the nursing work environment. The satisfaction and liberation of nurses who have found ways to practice their calling also emerges, giving hope to those in the field as well as their patients. The first in a series, this literature review served as the foundation for a qualitative study entitled, "Medical-Surgical Nurses' Self-Perceptions as Healers," which will appear in the next issue of Holistic Nursing Practice.