As we await the 2022 application figures for pre-registration nursing programmes, I am hopeful that the upward trajectory set last year continues. In 2021, a press release from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) stated that UCAS nursing applications in England reached 48 830, up from 35 960 at the same point in the previous year, representing a 34% increase. The figures for England also showed (DHSC, 2021):
- An increase in applications of more than 50% among 25-to 34-year-olds and 43% among those 35 and over
- A 41% rise in male applicants.
Ford (2021) pointed out that the jump in applications was attributed in part to ‘people being inspired by the work of nurses during the coronavirus pandemic’ and quoted the Chief Nurse at Health Education England (HEE), Professor Mark Rutherford, as saying ‘the tireless and outstanding commitment of all our nurses over the past year … is the best possible advert for the nursing profession’. There was much comment at the time regarding ‘nurses of the future’.
Alongside colleagues from my local higher education institution, I recently reviewed the latest report from UCAS and HEE (2022), which focuses on the ‘future nurses’. The research originated from a new UCAS survey of 2690 firm nursing applicants from the UK who applied by the deadline for 2021 entry. Results were weighted to make responses representative of the applicant population. Also considered were results from the ongoing UCAS ‘new applicant survey’ for the 2021 cycle and other published research.
The report sought to ask:
‘Who are these “future nurses”? What, and who, has shaped and inspired their decisions? What excites and worries them most about their next steps? … What can we learn from these individuals to shape the workforce of the future?’
There are several interesting findings. As was suggested last year, the COVID-19 pandemic inspired more than two-thirds of 2021 nursing applicants, with around 1 in 10 stating it was the most important factor. Previous research, cited in the report, has shown that student decision making is influenced by societal factors. Although COVID-19 has been described as the biggest NHS challenge since the Second World War, it has triggered a surge in the popularity of nursing. This seems to be particularly the case with younger applicants, as the 18-year-old age group saw the second-largest increase, and UCAS polling shows that younger applicants are more likely to have been inspired by the pandemic to apply to nursing.
The cohort of nursing applicants tends to skew towards mature students and there was also a boom in mature acceptances, with analysis of free-text responses highlighting several examples of older applicants pursuing internal progression from roles such as healthcare assistants within the NHS—this is felt to illustrate the power of authentic role models within the profession. Around 1 in 4 of 2021 nursing applicants stated that current healthcare personnel were the most influential in their decision to apply to nursing.
Nursing is described as a ‘powerhouse for widening access and participation’ in higher education—the NHS Long Term Plan set out bold ambitions for apprenticeships and this has enabled an increase in applications, and it is also noted that 1.4 times more young people from the most disadvantaged areas in the UK choose to study nursing than their most advantaged counterparts. On the other hand, the report highlights that ‘men remain an untapped source of nurses’, given the stark gender gap in applications, with females more than 9 times more likely to choose and be placed on nursing courses.
There was positive news regarding the challenge of training more mental health professionals. With UCAS reporting a 450% increase in the number of mental health declarations via the UCAS application over the last decade, COVID-19 also prompted an increase in the number of students looking to apply to mental health nursing (a 30% increase between 2019 and 2021).
Another positive indication: even though there was a decline in the number of students from the EU wanting to study in England, demand for nursing courses rose by 6%, bucking the overall trend. And finally, nursing applicants are extremely confident in their choice of career: 99% of 2021 nursing applicants were confident they had made the right decision to study nursing.
The report and its next steps stimulated our local conversations to ensure our readiness to support the increase in learners. Most stark was the need to further understand more granular detail in relation to the choice of branch. For example, there was little mention in the research into an evidence base for learning disabilities nursing. Also, a clear and emergent priority relates to the increase in health declarations of students and the support required to enable successful progression towards a career as a registered nurse for individuals.