What a nursing professional knows and can do, as well as the subject and content of their profession, is constantly being redefined. The history of the Zurich School of Nursing (1976–2009) reflects the development of nursing knowledge and its conceptual models into the 21st century. With the increasing professionalization, nursing became something that encompasses more than the tasks and assistance of a support profession, which was once learned in nursing schools predominantly attended by women. Instead, a scientific practice discipline was established, learned through studies at universities of applied sciences or higher vocational schools. The contribution of the Zurich School of Nursing to this process was the four-year training in integrated nursing that began in the 1970s. Here, nursing was understood as a problem-solving and relational process derived from nursing principles and humanistic psychology. In 1992, new training regulations from the Swiss Red Cross for a generalist profession in health and nursing care at two diploma levels came into effect. Building on this, the Zurich School of Nursing developed new training programs that placed a focus on the lived experiences in nursing. Expanded teaching and learning methods, key qualifications, and competencies promoted the independence of nursing diploma education. The Zurich School of Nursing joined the development and research in nursing by establishing a higher vocational training level I and implementing a research project for the systematic application of health-promoting and health-maintaining nursing measures.