The Politics of Nursing Knowledge puts into context the historical factors which have shaped and sometimes limited the development of nurse education. Anne Marie Rafferty makes a critical reappraisal of Florence Nightingale's vision of nursing and looks at how training and policy-making have evolved from the origins of hospital reform in the 1860s to the start of the National Health Service in 1948.

Highlighting the contemporary issues confronting all those in training, the book questions the extent to which nursing fits into the mould of both a profession and an academic discipline. Based on substantial new research, The Politics of Nursing Knowledge is a valuable resource for nursing students at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

'Each page is profoundly thought-provoking...Those ignoring this book deprive themselves of an academic, professional and literary treasure. The nursing profession should feel indebted to its author.' - International History of Nursing Journal

'Beautifully written. This book is the work of a true scholar.' - James P. Smith, Editor, Journal of Advanced Nursing

'This book is well researched and presented, and provides an excellent contribution to the debates on nursing knowledge and the development of education and the nursing profession.' - Medical Sociology News

Anne Marie Rafferty is Director of the Centre for Policy in Nursing Research, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and Research Associate at the Wellcome Unit for the History of Medicine, University of Oxford