Abstract: Using the life history approach this study investigates the consequences of difference within the context of nursing. Life story interviews were conducted with 26 women nurses of varying racial, cultural and sexual identity backgrounds in the USA and New Zealand.The questions framing the interviews focused on the women's experience of difference and fairness in their lives and specifically within nursing.The creation of life story 'snippets' in the first level of analysis reflected the unique aspects of each woman's story and became the first step in the process of creating a thematic analysis or meta-story. The meta-story that emerged from the juxtaposition of the women's stories was “not fitting in to nursing”.The findings of this study suggest that in spite of the change in location of nursing education and its recent attention to the implications of client diversity, the continued imposition of traditional definitions of 'the nurse' by nursing institutions, renders difference amongst nurses invisible. This limits the ability of nurses to be authentic in their practice and also limits the extent to which they can implement the new policies recognizing difference amongst their client populations