Do NHS nurses really need a degree?

I QUALIFIED as a State Registered Nurse in the Sixties following a baptism of fire on a hospital ward. We had no need for a degree because we were there to ensure the dignity of our patients. We trained at the hospital and many of us would not have been able to travel miles to a university to learn how to be a nurse. We were taught that the first attribute of a nurse is compassion. These days, when you go to hospital all you see are nurses gazing at computers. BARBARA J. ROBINSON, Rochdale, Gtr Manchester.

MY DAUGHTER is in her first year of training to be a mental health nurse, and there is no option other than to take a degree course. For the privilege she pays £9,250 per year plus a maintenance loan. Unlike other undergraduates she does not have long holidays. When she is not at university, she is undertaking compulsory unpaid placements on the wards. I fund her accommodation and travel. Why were bursaries abolished? A compulsory period of employment in the NHS on graduation to repay the cost of training would have sorted vocational nurses from those just wanting a free degree course. The best part? She loves her course, and when she graduates she should be guaranteed employment.

Name supplied, Chester.

NURSING is a vocation. I underwent excellent training on the job, spending one day a week with a tutor to become a State Enrolled Nurse at my local cottage hospital. I was taught that looking after a patient’s personal needs is a vital contribution to their self-respect, comfort and recovery. All I needed was a secondary school qualification and a desire to help and care for patients. Mrs C. WEBB, Minster-on-Sea, Kent.