All new nurses must have degrees
Nursing in England is to become a degree-only profession accordingly to a latest report on government plans.
Following a ratification made in September 2008, the Nursing and Midwifery Council has prompted the Department of Health to make it a graduate-only profession.
Chief nursing officer for England Dame, Christine Bailey, said today on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme that the decision was a “small but important step” that will help nurses obtain the “real ability to think and make decisions” as care becomes more complicated. She added; “It’s not about moving nurses away from direct care,”
Gail Adams, head of Unison, said during the same feature that the decision for degree only entry into the profession might cause the diversity of backgrounds from which nurses come from to become narrow and less accurately reflect the people that the industry is caring for.
Peter Charter, chief exec for the Royal College of Nursing, said that this is an important and historic development that the RCN has supported for many years”, welcoming the move.
“Nurses are the largest single profession within the health service, and are critical to the delivery of high quality health care.” says Health Minister, Anne Keen. She added that degree-level education will provide nurses with better decision-making abilities in order to make senior-level decisions in the developing NHS.
Anne says that this is the best way forward if the NHS are to fulfill the aim of providing a better quality of healthcare for all.
Matt Shetty understands the importance of working for a well known and ethically approved pharmaceutical clinical trials company, also known as a clinical research organisation, and recommends that care is taken when looking for work in the nursing sector.
Author’s comments: Whether this is a good step forward or not is arguable. Degree-level entry could mean a better quality of nursing professionals joining the industry, providing the necessary skills to make high-level decisions and good judgment in an ever-changing industry. However, this may limit the amount of promising candidates who are not able to follow the degree route for varied reasons such limited funding. This could in turn create a high demand for degree-qualified nurses in turn putting more pressure on the industry to deliver quality healthcare.
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* Consult your doctor before taking any medical advice!
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