Posted 11 April 2024 - 10:51
Posted 11 April 2024 - 10:51
News
Nursing student numbers: degree places ‘getting harder to fill’
Decline in nursing degree applications means universities cannot meet national targets, says nurse academic after her institution had to scrap its mental health programme spring intake
Decline in nursing degree applications means universities cannot meet national targets, says nurse academic after her institution had to scrap its mental health programme spring intake
A university has told how it cannot meet national targets on filling nursing degree places and is seeking students from overseas to fill the gaps.
Cardiff University head of nursing Susan Ward said it will be impossible for universities in Wales to fill the volume of places commissioned because of a year-on-year decline in applications.
Call for a national campaign to improve the image of nursing
Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW) commissioned more than 2,700 university places this year in a bid to expand the number of newly qualified nurses entering the workforce. But Cardiff has had to scrap its spring 2024 intake of mental health nursing students due to the lack of interest.
Its head of nursing and senior lecturer Susan Ward said: ‘The number of commissioned places is increasing, but we are seeing fewer applications, even lower than pre-COVID levels. We are doing all we can to attract people and support them once they are on the course, but it’s getting harder, and you have to get them to your website in the first place.
‘We also need to ensure we are getting the right candidates that can cope with the demands of the course. We need a national coordinated campaign to champion and improve the image of nursing, especially for mental health nursing which is often invisible to the public.’
Ms Ward added her institution was pleased to welcome the 65 students from overseas recruited to the adult nursing programme for 2023-24, but it was still unable to fill all the 316 places for that academic year.
Number of nursing degree applications continues to fall
Nursing students in Wales can apply to have their tuition fees and a portion of living costs paid for by the government through the NHS Wales Bursary, if they commit to working in Wales for two years after graduation. But despite the scheme, applications to study adult nursing at Cardiff declined from 1,138 in 2022-23 to 800 in 2023-24, and to just 648 due to start in 2024-25.
Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) figures show applications to study a nursing degree in the UK have fallen by a third (32%) in three years, from 46,040 in 2021 to 31,100 in 2024.
Yet the target number of university places commissioned by HEIW has grown from 2,202 to 2,701 in two years. It is yet to meet any of its target numbers.
Nurse training commissioning and recruitment figures for Wales
| Academic year | HEIW-commisioned places | Filled places |
|---|---|---|
| 2021-22 | 2,202 | 1,995 |
| 2022-23 | 2,396 | 1,796 |
| 2023-24 | 2,701 | 2,268 |
Strategies to increase nursing student numbers
A HEIW spokesperson said it was pursuing several initiatives to support nurse training, including part-time distance learning programmes, flexible routes to registration, international student recruitment and a range of promotional and recruitment programmes.
The spokesperson added: ‘Initial figures indicate that 2,200 nursing students will have been recruited in the academic year 2023-24. This will be the highest number of nursing students ever recruited in Wales. There has been mixed recruitment success on an individual programme basis, and we are working closely with those organisations that have places available.’
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