The development of nursing: a European perspective

What do we mean by "Europe" and what is a European perspective? Those of us living in the European Union (EU) often equate Europe with our own "Western" countries, although as the EU itself expands even the term "Western" is increasingly inaccurate. The 50 Member States of the WHO European Region cover a huge area stretching from the western coast of Greenland to the Mediterranean, the Arctic and the Pacific coasts of the Russian Federation. "WHO Europe" is a loose geographical definition, since it incorporates all the republics of the former Soviet Union, including those in Central Asia.