[State of development and challenges of federal German nursing science]

Nursing care in the Federal Republic of Germany has taken an unexpected, major developmental leap in recent years: numerous new study programs for nursing have been established over a very short period. Additionally we have also seen the advent of nursing science in our universities, and the development of nursing research is essential in making this field a true scientific discipline. This paper takes stock of what has been achieved so far, reviewing nursing as it is practised, study programs, and the development of the scientific discipline and nursing research. It will show that, in spite of the numerous achievements in the recent past, there are still many more tasks that need to be addressed. Just one of these is to fill the continuing vacuum by building up the science, pushing ahead with the development of nursing research, and creating appropriate conditions for promising researchers from the next generation.