Polonius3: Does nursing in the UK require a bachelor's degree?
Not to work as a registered nurse, no.
The training has changed over the years, but has been a minimum of three years training for many years now. There used to be a "enrolled nurse" course (two years) but this was phased out in the early 1990s. Some of these nurses still exist, but many are approaching retirement; the rest did conversion courses to raise their qualifications to "registered nurse" level.
20 years ago, most nurses were employed by local hospitals on "training contracts" for three years and trained in "schools of nursing". Educationally, their qualification was equivalent to completing the first year of a 3-year degree.
Then the training became a little less practical; the universities took over the training, and the minimum educational qualification was raised to DipHE (diploma of higher education) level, i.e. equivalent to completing two years of a 3-year degree.
From 2012, the diploma-level courses will no longer be offered, so from 2015 onwards, every nurse will still undergo three years training, but will graduate with a bachelor's degree.
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