From the partners that envisioned its early beginnings, it was clear that the School of Nursing was destined for success. Its formation was initiated in 1966 by a tripartite agreement between the Government of Jamaica (GOJ), Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the University of the West Indies (UWI) which created the Advanced Nursing Education Unit (ANEU). The Unit was administratively placed in the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine with its own Director at the level of Senior Lecturer. The purpose of the Unit was to prepare experienced registered nurses to undertake administrative and educational responsibilities in the nursing/health services and provide leadership in nursing/health care.

Two concurrent eleven-month Certificate programmes, Nursing Administration and Nursing Education were offered and the first class began October 3, 1966 with sixteen (16) students from six (6) Caribbean countries. Thus, these students became the first group of health care providers to have received formal University education in administration and education in the Caribbean. Students from all the English-speaking Caribbean countries have participated to date and there has also been one student from the Netherland Antilles.

In 1972, discussions regarding a Nurse Practitioner Programme (NPP) began and consequently, with the Jamaican Government’s acceptance of the Nurses Association of Jamaica (NAJ) NPP proposal, the ANEU developed and implemented a Family and a Paediatric Nurse Practitioner programme. The ANEU undertook responsibility for the academic and clinical quality of those programmes and has guided and directed its development to date. Planning for a Mental Health Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner programme formally began in 1995 and was initiated September, 1996.

The BScN (post RN) for registered nurses became a reality in 1983 with the support of the Ministry of Health, Jamaica. Students from 14 CARICOM countries have now participated. The  BScN (post RN) Programme provides greater access to registered nurses who want to obtain a baccalaureate degree in nursing.

In 1991, ANEU gained status as the Department of Advanced Nursing Education (DANE) in the Faculty of Medical Sciences. DANE retained its status after a restructuring which integrated the Faculty into eight departments. The most recent structural and name change to The UWI School of Nursing, Mona (UWISON) occurred in April 2005, because DANE began offering a BScN undergraduate nursing programme in 2002. Currently, the UWI BScN programme is offered at:

1. The UWI Mona Campus
2. The UWI Western Jamaica Campus
3. Three (3) Tertiary Level Institutions

The University Hospital of the West Indies School of Nursing which would have educated registered nurses of distinction for Jamaica and the world for 57 years graduated its last class in 2006.