Nurses to have graduate training

I read in the news today that the Department of Health has announced plans to revise the entry requirements for nurses entering the profession. From 2013, it is anticipated that nurses will have had to undergo three years training to a degree level. The plans have been announced to cope with the increasing complex demands of patients, say the Government.

The proposals have found wide-ranging support, not least from the Royal College of Nursing.

This has to be a welcome move. Better training equates to more experienced staff, which in turn has to be better for risk management. As medicine develops and our knowledge grows, so do of course a patient’s expectations and with sub-specialties evolving and developing, it seems only fitting that the nursing profession (which is of course of paramount importance to the NHS), is equipped to develop with it.

I was discussing a case recently with a Colorectal Surgeon, who indicated to me that about 20 years ago that title didn’t exist in the capacity as it does now; you were simply a General Surgeon, but obviously as individuals become more skilled, due to advances in knowledge, these niche areas arise. It seems only right that the nursing profession is not left behind.