Welcome to the Nurses in Red WikiProject. We are a group dedicated to improving Wikipedia's coverage of History of nursing in the United Kingdom.
The group started in April 2022, and is made up of members of the Royal College of Nursing History of Nursing Forum. The volunteer-members are all nurses or nursing staff and bring their expert knowledge and passion for history to the group. You can find out more about the Forum on their web page https://www.rcn.org.uk/Get-Involved/Forums/History-of-Nursing-Forum
The group sets out to raise awareness of the contribution of nurses to society throughout history on Wikipedia. The focus is on new articles on (historical) nursing organisations and biographies, but also on ensuring nursing is represented in existing articles. These can include ensuring influential matrons, such as Kathleen Robb are included in the history of individual hospitals, or that influential local nurses, such as Williamina Barclay are included in local history articles.
We were inspired by the Wikipedia:WikiProject Women in Red. The majority of the nursing profession in the UK are women at around 90% of the total workforce.[1][2][3] A 2021 study showed that 17% of Wikipedia biographies were about women, so it's no wonder that nurses and nursing are often absent from Wikipedia.
The RCN members come from all across the UK and from a variety of care settings and expertise. They meet online on a monthly basis to problem solve and share their work. Between meetings the members develop new articles and improve the content of existing articles to raise the profile of nurses globally. As RCN members they have an online space in which they can ask eachother questions, get advice on accessing relevant resources, make suggestions or ask a group member to review a draft of their work.
The group is supported by a volunteer Wikimedian and a volunteer Archivist.
In 2023, The HONF Nurses in Red project won the UK Wikipedian award for Partnership of the Year. In 2024 Nurses in Red presented their work at the UK Association of the History of Nursing colloquium and published it in the UKAHN Bulletin Just a Nurse – The UKAHN Bulletin: ISSN 2049-9744. [4] Members of the group have also been given awards by the wider RCN membership for the contributions they are making.
There is a Wiki dashboard for the group where you can track the work and its impact https://outreachdashboard.wmflabs.org/courses/RCN_History_of_Nursing_Forum/Wikipedia_Nurses_in_Red
We use reputable sources to ensure that new articles meet the notable criteria set by Wikipedia. We contribute to WikiData and add images on Wiki Commons. Having a Wikimedian to advise the group has meant we are creating consistent and robust articles, and improving existing articles appropriately.
None of the group had experience of Wikipedia when we started. It's a small group that is learning a lot about how to be a wikipedia editor, as well as learning and sharing a huge amount about the history of nursing.
Here's a 2026 blog about being part of the group and sharing the history of nursing in Scotland https://www.rcn.org.uk/news-and-events/Blogs/wikipedia-as-a-platform-for-engagement-widening-public-knowledge-of-scottish-nurses-210126
- "Why are there so few men in nursing?". Nursing Times. 3 March 2008. Retrieved 2016-03-11.
- Swain, Harriet (19 May 2014). "How do we recruit boys into female-dominated professions?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2016-03-11.
- "NMC mid year report Sep 2023" (PDF). Nursing and Midwifery Council. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
- https://bulletin.ukahn.org/just-a-nurse/