Nursing in the United Kingdom

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages) This article may be too long to read and navigate comfortably. Consider splitting content into sub-articles, condensing it, or adding subheadings. Please discuss this issue on the article's talk page. (February 2025) This article's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia. See Wikipedia's guide to writing better articles for suggestions. (February 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) A major contributor to this article appears to have a close connection with its subject. It may require cleanup to comply with Wikipedia's content policies, particularly neutral point of view. Please discuss further on the talk page. (February 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Nursing in the United Kingdom" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (February 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Nursing in the United Kingdom is the profession of registered nurses and nursing associates in the primary and secondary care of patients. It has evolved from assisting physicians to encompass a variety of professional roles. Over 700,000 registered nurses practice in the UK,^[1] working in settings such as hospitals, health centres, nursing homes, hospices, communities, military, prisons, and academia. Most are employed by the National Health Service (NHS).

Nursing is split into four fields: adults, children, mental health, and learning disability. Within these nurses may work within specialties such as medical care or theatres, and may specialise further in areas such as cardiac care.^[2] Nurses often work in multi-disciplinary teams, but increasingly work independently, and may work in supporting sectors such as education or research.

The UK-wide regulator for nursing is the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), and all nurses and nursing associates must be registered to practise.^[3][4] Dental Nurses, Nursery nurses and Veterinary nurses are not regulated by the NMC and follow different training, qualifications and career pathways.