Several papers from the UK (Carlowe 1997, Brewer & Cox 1998, Hardcastle & Hardcastle 2003) cited overzealous and indiscriminate application of an inquest’s recommendations following a sensational case of a nurse involved in patient homicides. The authors stated that the questionable reactions to this inquiry reinforced stigma and entrenched explicit and outright discriminatory hiring guidelines against nurses with a history of mental illness, creating very real barriers to their employment. D. Stigma within the profession against psychiatric nurses and/or psychiatry in general There is considerable evidence that the subspecialty of psychiatry is devalued within the profession of nursing.