The emergence of specialist orthopaedic nurses and nurse-led pre-operative assessment in the 1990s

SummaryThe article considers the development of orthopaedic nursing roles in the United Kingdom in the 1990s. The nurse practitioner role within pre-operative assessment clinics and other roles related to patient care after joint replacement surgery or trauma are described. Such roles developed because of changes in healthcare and legislation which allowed nurses to take on roles and responsibilities traditionally the preserve of other professions for the benefit of patient care.