Abstract
The nursing profession in Thailand is 100 years young. During this brief time nursing has evolved from a hospital-based, apprentice training model taught by male physicians, to the development of doctoral programs taught by nurses who are prepared at the doctoral level. The development of professional nursing has been influenced by Western countries, in particular, by close alliances with the United States. As in the United States, obstetric nursing has been guided by the need to decrease maternal and infant mortality. The high rates of maternal and infant mortality caused the early integration of midwifery courses into the nursing curriculum.