Hotseat: Media attacks on nurses are unfair

The idea that university education erodes the compassion out of student nurses is ludicrous, argues Sarah KendalApparently, nurses lack compassion. To address the problem, the chief nursing officer (CNO), has launched Compassion in Practice, a strategy to restore the nursing values of compassion, care, competence, communication, courage and commitment. She has been present in the media, tactfully responding to journalists who tell her that the root of the problem is nurses having a university education. She has rightly argued that while compassion is the current issue, nurses need real depth of knowledge to deliver care in a complex, rapidly changing environment.Is it so shocking that a nurse should go to university?