Abstract
Introduction. The nursing profession in Poland is subject to continuous transformations, but it should follow the directions based on the common framework for the development of specialist nursing, drawn up by international specialist nurses associations in Europe. A change in the nursing education system in Poland has provided an opportunity for progress based on consistent framework.
Summary. Nurse education organised in a system of first cycle and second cycle university courses was a milestone towards improving the status of the nursing profession. The improved position of Polish nurses paved the way for further advancements in this profession and in the related scientific research, which in the past was rarely conducted by Polish nurses; today more and more research teams are launched and operate both at universities and in nurses’ scientific associations.