[The nurse's thought for a significant social contribution by the production and use of scientific knowledge].

The social contribution of nurses to the health of the population is mainly defined by the knowledge supporting their actions. Conceptualization in nursing guides the production and utilisation of scientific knowledge within the discipline. The purpose of this paper is to present the recent thoughts on nursing theory and to provide some strategies to integrate them within the activities of knowledge mobilization, in practice, research, and education. When nurses are engaged in mobilizing theoretical and empirical knowledge in answering nursing practice questions and in discussing social health issues, they participate in persons, families, and communities health improvement, while affirming their disciplinary and social identity. Called to be change agents in health care systems, with other professional team members, it is important that nurses be prepared to mobilize knowledge and to engage in critical reasoning, and ethical conduct. Their social contribution will be as strong as the value they assign to nursing knowledge and their participation in producing it.