Background: Reviewing the current situation and future development of nursing profession in Sri Lanka enables one to understand not only the nature of its successes and problems, but more importantly, in what way plans for the future will impact on the profession.
Aim: To explore the issues and challenges concerning nursing regulation, administration, services and education in Sri Lanka and how they will impact on developing nursing professionalism.
Methods: A literature search was conducted using MEDLINE and CINAHL limited to articles in the English and Sinhala languages published between 1976 and November 2007. The reference lists of all identified reports and articles were searched for additional studies. Personal communication, unpublished reports and government records and websites were also used to obtain information on nursing service, regulation, administration and education in Sri Lanka. Hand searching of relevant Sri Lankan journals and government reports was undertaken to reveal any additional literature.
Conclusion: The Sri Lankan nursing profession is being very tardy in asserting its professional status in the health sector. There has been minimal effort to improve the standards of nursing services and education, mainly because of inadequate and disjointed involvement of those who are responsible for improving the health services in Sri Lanka. However, nursing services and education in Sri Lanka are being scrutinized as nurses today show more concern about their professional roles, education and status.