Covid heroes inspire students into nursing
Inspired by the heroic efforts of NHS staff on the Covid front-line, the city’s university has seen applications from young people for its nursing degree course increase by over a third.
Between 2019 and the current academic year, there has been a 36.4 per cent increase in the number of 18 to 21-yearolds applying for places on the UniversityofSunderland’sBSc degree in Adult Nursing Practice.
The demand for careers as health professionals has also risen with 1,500 students currently enrolled on courses at the School of Nursing and Health Sciences.
The escalation in demand mirrors the situation nationally with figures from UniversitiesandCollegesAdmissions Service (UCAS), which oversees university applications, showing a 43 per cent increase in the number of 18-year-olds in England enrolling to study nursing in 2021.
Head of the School of Nursing and Health Sciences at the University of Sunderland, Sue Brent, said: “It’s fantastic newssomanyyoungpeopleare choosingarewardingcareerin nursing.
“Over the last five years we’ve seen our own School of Nursing go from strength to strength, from a fledgling training provider with just 23 students, to a range of programmes whose reputation now attracts hundreds of students from across the globe to our Sunderland, London and overseas campuses.”
Sue believes a new-found public appreciation of the NHS is behind the upsurge in demand.
She said: “We currently have more than 1,000 student nurses training at Sunderland and many of our recent cohort have indeed been inspired by the incredible work and dedication of NHS staff in their efforts over the last two years to combat the global pandemic.
“Hundreds of those on the front-line tackling Covid include our own home-grown nurse graduates and we can’t overstate how proud we all are ofwhatthey’reachievingtoimprove the quality of health and life for others.”
DrRuthMay,ChiefNursing Officer for NHS England, added: “The last couple of years, difficult as they’ve been, have shone a spotlight on the value of our nursing profession and the rewarding careers on offer in every corner of the NHS.”
The university’s nursing degree was launched in 2016 in collaboration with South TynesideandSunderlandNHS Foundation Trust.