The NHS Future Forum Report

In the on-going effort to improve the quality of patient care in the UK, the latest instalment of the "NHS ~ Future Forum Report", released January 10,2012, calls on health care professionals to lead the way in patient-centered care. With regard to nursing and midwifery education the report states concern over inconsistencies in the training of nurses. The report touches on the academic nursing degree requirement, the reliance on 'virtual' training experiences due to lack of community placements, and the decline in numbers seeking post-graduate training in nursing specialist areas. Click here to read the full report.

British Brain Drain Looming?

The Guardian is reporting that health workers and teachers are getting ready to join the brain drain as home grown job prospects deteriorate.

"One in six doctors and nurses...plan to move abroad amid fears of spending cuts and pay freezes in the public sector"

Unions say this could place Britain in the "absurd position of hiring staff from abroad to fill the gap."
by Randeep Ramesh, Jessica Shepherd and Allegra Stratton

Nursing Degree Requirement on the Horizon for the UK?

The British government recently announced that by 2013, the minimum education for nurses will be raised from diploma to degree level, which means three or four years of post-secondary education and training.
The Royal College of Nursing is quoted as calling this "an important and historic development", while the UK Department of Health feels the additional education will better equip nurses leading to higher quality patient care. However the move is not without controversy due to the already critical shortage of nurses.

"An increasingly high percentage of nurses working in the NHS are foreign nationals, and raising the bar at entry point would have to be communicated clearly and rolled out internationally as the NHS is staffed by an international resource pool."

As reported in Nursing In Practice, Nov 17, 2009.