University group sees rise in nursing students

A university group has said it has seen a 71% rise in the number of people studying nursing courses in five years.

Coventry University Group, which includes the titular university as well as campuses in Scarborough and London, said 1,960 people were currently studying the profession with them. In 2020, there were 1,146 students.

The group said it had introduced courses that allowed more people to study, and invested in facilities and teaching.

"The course makes learning accessible to everyone," said student Maria Schaefer Guedes. "It gives us all flexibility to manage our other responsibilities, such as working and personal commitments."

Ms Guedes, 37, is originally from Brazil and is in her first year at Coventry University London.

She made the move to nursing from a 15-year career as a chef. Her parents were in the medical field and she said they inspired her next profession.

"Once I started to study at Coventry University, I realised I was on the right path," she said.

"The biggest word to describe nursing is rewarding - it's about dedicating your life to others, it's nothing about you, only about others."

She enrolled to the university's blended nursing course, which combined interactive digital learning and virtually-simulated experiences with practice-based learning.

"I decided I wanted a different and more fulfilling career where I could help people," she said.

The university group works with NHS groups across the country and, in the West Midlands, this includes University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire and George Eliot Hospital in Nuneaton.

In September 2024, the BBC reported there were 21% fewer nursing students starting courses at universities across the UK than three years prior.

Universities and colleges admissions service figures showed 23,800 students had been accepted on to nursing courses for that academic year – 340 fewer than in 2023 and 6,350 fewer than in 2021.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) called the situation "critical".

Almost one in five NHS workers in the Midlands have been recruited from abroad, according to NHS England data.

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