[user104658]

Originally Posted by Cherie

And neither can most university students

Nursing should never have become a degree based profession, thats where the issues started

Scottish nursing vacancies have risen by nearly a third in three months, prompting the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) to issue fresh calls for action in order to tackle the shortage. ... In the community, there was a 21% rise in nursing vacancies from 783 in March to 893 in June.6 Sep 2019

so the bursary and free tuition isn’t attractive it seems

Most university students don't have to go on 40hr/week unpaid placement and can have a part-time job.

I disagree fundamentally about it "not being a degree based profession" - there is ample evidence that well educated nurses = less mortality across the board. Nurses are and should remain trained medical professionals, they're not levelled-up healthcare assistants.

Also the reason for rising vacancies is poor pay and poor working conditions meaning that new people aren't attracted to the profession, as well as a significant number of experienced nurses from the EU leaving the country thanks to good old Brexit.