ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a picture of some aspects of the nursing profession in the Member States of the European Union (EU). The definition of nursing is of supreme importance. It acts as a framework for nursing practice and establishes professional parameters. From the time when Florence Nightingale founded modern nursing to the present day, in many countries, nurses have been preoccupied with definitions of their profession. Nursing encompasses autonomous and collaborative care of individuals of all ages, families, groups and communities, sick or well, and in all settings. Nursing includes the promotion of health; prevention of illness; and the care of the ill, disabled, and dying people. Institutions of various types have been important to the development of the nursing profession in the EU. In the Member States, it has been created and developed by and through the activities of local, regional, national, supranational, and global institutions, all of which have impacted its existence.
