7:30am Friday 27th August 2010
By Melanie Adams
Nurses being trained at the University of Southampton are at the forefront of one of the biggest shake-ups in medical education.
The university’s School of Health Sciences has become the first in the country to introduce a degree-only course for budding nurses.
The move comes a year earlier than the Government requirement, following Whitehall’s announcement that they wanted anyone training to be a nurse to have a degree qualification by 2013. It is hoped that the change will improve patient care and produce a new generation of highly educated nurses.
The three-year course will give nurses a high level of technical competence, medical knowledge and decision-making skills, in addition to their more traditional caring role.
It was feared that the new degree standard would scare off potential nursing candidates but the university has seen more applicants than ever signing up.
Stephanie Meakin, head of pre-registration at the School of Health Sciences, said: “The new rule will also improve the status of nurses and dispel the myth that they are a handmaiden to doctors.
“By offering a degree we are giving our students a head start. Graduates leave with excellent problem-solving, management and communications skills, along with an excellent knowledge of patient care in their chosen specialism.”
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