Nurses are outraged at Government for failing to hear their concerns over what they believe is a lowering of the standards of their profession.

Currently the Bermuda Nursing Council encourages applicants from the United States, Canada, and the West Indies to have a four-year Bachelor of Science degree.

According to a United Kingdom career website, a nurse must complete at least three years of training in general nursing, half of which must be clinical or practical training and they must register with the regulatory body.

And the Bermuda College offers a core curriculum in liberal arts, science and nursing courses which after two years students can transfer to Hampton University in the United States, to complete a Bachelor of Science.

According to angry nurses who contacted this paper however, this is going to change.

The nurses, who spoke on condition of anonymity, spoke on behalf of several in their profession who believe Government is planning to introduce a two-year Associate in Nursing at Bermuda College, after which students will be allowed to sit exams qualifying them as registered nurses and practise on the Island.

The nurses insist this will undermine those professionals who have qualified with four-year Bachelor's degrees.

And they say that although they have raised concerns with the Ministry of Health that the proposed change will lower the standard of their profession, they have been ignored.

One nurse who spoke to this paper said: "Certainly we are not opposed to a nursing school but we are opposed to the level of degree being an Associate's degree.

"No other profession has been dictated that you (now only) have to do two years. No other profession has been shortened by a shortage.

"We are not being listened to and why should we be dictated to (by having two different levels of training)? That's going to create another set of problems with the nurses from abroad and the local nurses.

"And if they do an Associate's degree, they may not go back (to train for four years). It's like we are not being taken seriously as a profession.

"We feel like we are not being heard and we are opposed to this idea. Why should we create new levels of nursing?"

Two years of education training is certainly not enough, said a second nurse.

She maintained that anyone can cram for the board examination, the NCLEX exam, but it is the extra two years that ensures quality.

She said the nurses previously had to finish a four-year Bachelor's degree which gave them four full years of training — not two.

"Any student can get the study guides and learn the material. They will not have four years of educational training behind them; just two," she said.

"You cannot get the training you need in two years. But it's not about having a nursing school in Bermuda – we are all for that – it's about not lowering the standards."

Permanent Secretary of Health Warren Jones said the nurses would be met with if they desired to and that a press conference would be held which would provide more information.

He said: "The Minister intends to hold a press conference on this initiative very shortly. Additionally, the Nurses' Association has requested, and the Minister has agreed (to a meeting).

"We will deal with their concerns at those times."

However Shadow Health Minister Louise Jackson said that lowering standards was not the way to increase the number of nurses and urged the Minister not to take this step.

She said: "They are lowering their standard in doing a two-year process. We feel this is regressing. No other profession is treated like this.

"And we would obviously not want a doctor with two years of training. Why should you get an architect with that type of training or anybody else?

"They are lowering the standard and we need fully trained nurses and doctors and medical professionals at the hospital.

"They want a quick fix. They obviously need nurses, but we can't fix something like this.

"It would be better to give them better salaries and places to live."