Students ‘in dark over modern nurse’s role’

U.K. – Students are in the dark about what a nursing career actually involves, according to a poll for King’s College London conducted to mark 100 years since the death of Florence Nightingale.

Many 18-year-olds are unaware that a nurse has the authority to give medicines to patients and can have prescribing powers.

The survey of 1,000 students from all academic backgrounds was carried out for the Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery at King’s College London.

Just 6% of those questioned knew nurses could potentially earn up to £100,000 a year, with 92% thinking only doctors earned that amount. Many students also had no idea nurses could train to consultant-level – with just one in four saying that was true.

Once told about the range of skills a nurse develops and the senior position he or she can hold, a fifth of students said they would be more inclined to consider a nursing career.

Of those who already thought about nursing, 63% were more likely to opt for the profession.

Professor Anne Marie Rafferty, head of the school, said: “It is a worry that many students do not fully understand what a career as a nurse involves. We need to challenge and update the image of nursing to tell it as it is – one of the greatest and most rewarding professions providing one of the most precious services to society – compassionate, high-calibre care delivered by outstanding people.”

Nightingale played a central role in nursing soldiers wounded in the Crimean war, improving sanitation and boosting survival rates.

She returned to England in 1856, later establishing the Nightingale Training School for nurses at St Thomas’ Hospital in London. She died aged 90.


Source: Google