The History of Children's Nursing and Its Direction Within the United Kingdom

This article presents an account of the "evolution of children's nursing." The pertinent topic was originally developed as part of a Doctorate in Education (EdD) as it was anticipated an understanding of children's nursing would provide a more comprehensive context for a doctoral study that aims to explore the child's experience of staying in Northern Ireland's regional children's hospital from the perspectives of children and children's nurses using child-centered methodology. Northern Ireland, England, Scotland, and Wales are the 4 countries collectively known as the United Kingdom (UK). Hence the concept of "children's/pediatric nursing" was extracted and presented as a catalogue of significant events in their order of occurrence. The article also considers the future direction of children's nursing within the UK. Wider dissemination was thought pivotal to inform all registered nurses, inclusive of those caring for children in all healthcare settings.