A crisis in the recruitment of nurses is expected in the mid-1990s. One possible strategy is to attract trained nurses who have left active nursing back into the service. This study seeks to identify non-practising nurses in the Norwich Health District and find out what changes would be most likely to attract them back to nursing. Most of the 642 non-practising nurses who responded to the survey had left the service relatively recently and the most common reason for leaving was pregnancy. Over half of the respondents said that it was likely that they would return to nursing at some time in the future. Younger females were the most likely to indicate an interest in returning. There was widespread agreement on the measures that would be most successful in attracting trained nurses back into the service. The suggestions that received most support were almost all concerned with providing opportunities for part-time nursing work with hours to suit women with children of school age. The register of non-practising nurses established by this survey will be maintained updated and used as the basis for regular contact with a potential labour force.