Nursing in the United Kingdom has a

Nursing in the United Kingdom has a long history, but in its current form probably dates back to the era of Florence Nightingale, who initiated schools of nursing in the latter part of the 19th and early 20th centuries. During the latter part of the 20th century, increases in autonomy and professional status changed the nursing role from handmaiden to the doctor to independent practitioners. The profession has gone through many changes in role and regulation. Nurses now work in a variety of settings in hospitals, health centres, nursing homes and in the patients' own homes. Nearly 400,000 nurs.