The publication presents the rich history of surgical (operating room) nurses in
Slovenia. The training of surgical nurses dates back to the late 19th and early 20th
centuries, when it was primarily carried out by members of charitable orders,
especially the Daughters of Christian Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, also known as
the Sisters of Mercy.
In early 1946, the first six-month training course for operating room nurses and
orthopedic assistants was organized in Ljubljana. In the 1960s, Slovenian nurses
began to establish the first professional sections with the aim of developing more
specialized fields of practice. In 1975, the Section of Operating Room Nurses was
established within the Association of Nurses of Slovenia.