A brief history of the registration of nurses

To work as a nurse or midwife in the United Kingdom today, you must be on the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) register— and over 660 000 nurses and midwives are registered ( Nursing and Midwifery Council, 2011 ). Recently, the Health Secretary Andrew Lansley officially announced plans for a voluntary register, code of conduct, and basic training standards for healthcare assistants (HCAs). With talk of registration of HCAs, it may be interesting to look back at the trials and tribulations that were to eventually lead to the registration of nurses in 1919 ( Baly, 1973 ). The aim of this article is briefly to follow the path that led to the registration of nurses in 1919.