Introduction The historical development of nursing began with the human need for the provision of assistance to alleviate suffering, by gathering and preparing preparations for pain relief, childbirth, and care for the newborn, as well as the care for the dying. Nursing separated from medicine during the late 19th century. Procedures This paper was created by using literature on the history of nursing, medicine and education from published books and searchable detabases such as the unizg repozitory, Hrčak, google sholar. Topic overview With the development of civilization, social and religious changes, the path of development of nursing also changed. Until the common era, the development of nursing was influenced by the development of the civilizacions of individual nations. After the beginning of the common era, the religion of Christianity influenced nursing. Nursing began to develop in the direction of its current status as a profession during the mid- 19th century with Florence Nightingale and a new model of nursing education. The development path of nursing became accelerated under the circumstances created by two world wars, as well as the appearance of epidemics and diseases that were present in the post-war period. Changes in society show that the health care system can only function if nurses are well educated. Conclusion Discoveries in science, medicine and technology affect the need for a highly educated nurse in providing quality care and nursing. By adapting the education of nurses to other countries, nursing in Croatia is becoming a profession, and a higher level of education enables progress in the education process. The progress and development of the education system for nurses in the future is going to enable the further development of nursing in the field of education, profession, autonomy, and status in society.