Although the number of practice nurses is increasing, surprisingly little is known about them as a group. Here Karl Atkin and Gillian Parker describe the sort of information they will be seeking in their forthcoming research

Changes in health policy and the way in which community health is delivered have led to a substantial growth in the numbers of practice nurses employed in general practice. Recent estimates suggest that there may be as many as 14,000 practice nurses currently in employment (7,500 whole time equivalents).