The National Emergency Medicine Programme Strategy is a comprehensive plan to improve and develop emergency care in Ireland. It recommends significant changes in how emergency care is organised and delivered so that patients can be confident that they will receive high quality, safe and timely care. Emergency nurses were involved in developing aspects of the strategy document and will play a crucial role in its implementation to ensure that patient outcomes and satisfaction with emergency care services in Ireland are improved.Susanna Byrne and colleagues review the contribution of nurses to the development of a national emergency medicine programme strategy