Nursing timebomb as a quarter near retirement

Published on Tuesday 12 May 2009 10:41

CALLS have been made for more young people to go into nursing to avoid a recruitment timebomb.

The Edinburgh-based Royal College of Nurses estimates that within the next decade a quarter of the country's nurses will retire.

And without a proactive recruitment drive, the RCN says, there will be a huge shortage.

The organisation has marked International Nurses' Day by calling on more youngsters to consider a career on the wards, and for the authorities to do more to make it an appealing choice.

A recent survey by the largest nurses' union found that at least one in ten schoolchildren listed nursing as their preferred career, the RCN added, and the gap between desire and actually signing up had to be bridged.

Director Theresa Fyffe said stereotypes and misconceptions perhaps put prospective candidates off applying.

She said: "There is an urgent need for people to be made aware of the benefits of a career in nursing. It's clear that the image of nursing does not reflect the reality.

"Modern nursing is a dynamic career, providing an incredibly broad range of opportunities and a real chance to have an interesting, successful career that makes a real difference to other people's lives."