Nurses eating nurses: the caring profession which fails to nurture its own!

For many years student nurses were trained in a more disciplined approach with considerable time allocated to working in the hospital environment and specified times allowed for gaining theoretical knowledge throughout their formal training. Nurses therefore gained a tremendous amount of experience and competency in their practical skills. With the introduction of more specialized equipment and technology it was now desirable to improve the professional status of nurses and nursing education. The introduction of university trained nurses has been met with much criticism. Student nurses are now being empowered and informed with theoretical knowledge from many health disciplines that allows them to use a holistic approach to patient care. The changes to nurse education were hoped to improve the professional status of nurses although this transition has not been without problems. Experienced nurses who are already working in stressful conditions with continuous staff shortages and poor recognition of service see the student nurse sometimes as an extra hindrance to their already increasing workload. Student nurses are theoretically competent but lack the clinical expertise and experience to complement this knowledge which can also add to the professional pressure that experience nurses encounter. Most nurses would like to see themselves, as promoters of nursing but are frustrated and disillusioned with their profession. It would seem then that student nurses as a result of this dissatisfaction are often devoured by some nurses instead of being encouraged and nurtured in their enthusiasm for nursing.