In the second half of the 19th century， western missionaries came to China for medical missionary activities， which promoted the emergence and development of western nursing. With the development of nursing in China， the appellation of nursing practitioners is constantly changing， among which the two words “nursing” and “nurse” are more common. From the perspective of “change” between nursing and nurse， this paper aims to analyze the changes in the use of appellations for nurses and the source of nurses， so as to further consider the development of modern nursing and the social changes in China. The transform of nursing and nurse is not only a change in the name of nursing practitioners， but also a manifestation of gradual development in nursing under the influence of different medical models in modern society. With the change of social environment， the developmentd of nursing was gradually standardized and professionalized under the leadership of the government. The internal choices of nursing and the external thrust of social development promote its transformation of nursing. The nursing has also been further recognized and accepted in the society.