How has removing the NHS bursary affected nursing in England?

In the latest issue of Nursing in Practice, we look at how the removal of the bursary is affecting undergraduate courses.

It has been two years since the NHS bursary was officially removed from undergraduate nursing courses in England, and the numbers of applicants to study nursing at university has dropped steadily since, leaving many worried about how the Government will recruit the extra nurses the NHS needs.

Hadley Stewart talks to recent nurse graduates, as well as some undergraduates, to gauge opinion on how the bursary, or lack thereof, affected their studies.

We also speak to UCAS director Helen Thorne to get her thoughts on the underlying statistics of nursing undergraduate applications, and offer an update on the latest figures for England compared to the rest of the UK.

Elsewhere, Marilyn Eveleigh wonders how nursing is expected to retain its staff when it is struggling to retain the leaders of the profession.