The largest provider of healthcare training in the UK reported a nearly quarter-drop in applications as a result of seeing nurses who were "tired" and on strike.
ARU, which trains about 1,000 nurses annually, reported that the number of applicants affected by the pandemic had decreased.
While many of the 50,000 nurses expected to be hired by March 2024, according to the Department of Health, have come from abroad.
ARU's Louise Jenkins stated that they wished for "local people to come and train and stay local.".
Just over 2,000 people applied to ARU's nursing programs in 2020, and that number increased by about 50% the following year to just over 3,000.
There was a slight decline in 2022, but this year, across their campuses in Cambridge, Peterborough, and Chelmsford, applications fell to 2,169, a 23 percent decrease from last year.
Applications increased from 2019 to 2022, but this year they are back to pre-pandemic levels, according to data from the admissions service Ucas.
People have noticed that nurses and other healthcare professionals are becoming fatigued, according to Ms. Jenkins, dean of the nursing and midwifery school at ARU.
"They are becoming more aware of events like strikes on the news, which has led to a 20 percent drop in applications over the past year.
"It is a real shame that fewer people are applying; nurses are needed to complete the training. ".
After the pandemic, Ms. Jenkins stated that the decline this year was "something we expected.". however, we wouldn't want to see that pattern persist.
We are aware of the aging of our population and the impending need for a large number of nurses, she continued.
The fact that so many nurses have arrived from abroad is fantastic. But we also want locals to receive training because they are the ones who won't want to return to their home nations and families. ".
The "demand for nursing is increasing" in the NHS, according to Lorraine Szeremeta, chief nurse at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge.
There was a particular need at Addenbrooke's as it opened additional wards and theaters to address the backlog caused by the pandemic.
The cost of living and working in Cambridge, she noted, is a particular problem that "makes it difficult for [nurses] to continue their career with us, so that is definitely something that we're working on.".
With increased demand everywhere, she said, "I think there's definitely a smaller pool of nurses for us to call on.".
The hospital was training staff who already lived and worked in Cambridge to become nurses, according to Ms. Szeremeta, who also stated that the hospital had to "do everything we can to be attractive to newly qualified nurses.".
Sara Dennis, a nurse from Cambridgeshire, recently received her nursing license and is employed by Addenbrooke's on the teenager cancer unit.
Nursing was "something I always wanted to do," according to the 49-year-old, but she only recently finished her program at Anglia Ruskin.
It's been everything and more, she said, adding that it's absolutely amazing. To be allowed into someone's life when they are afraid, ill, or vulnerable, in my opinion, is a true privilege. ".
Ms. Dennis acknowledges that the pandemic's strain on the NHS and the recent strikes "may have turned people away" from nursing.
However, she added, "I have developed so many skills working through the pandemic that I would not have had before.
She stated that it was "really important" to recruit more nurses for the NHS. Moreover, you can pursue so many different career paths in nursing that you will never get bored.
There is "strong interest in nursing and midwifery careers, with applications above 2019 levels," according to a Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson.
Students who met the requirements would also "benefit from training grants of at least £5,000 a year," they claimed.
As of September 2019, there were 44,000 more nurses working in the NHS. They continued, "We are on track to meet our commitment of 50,000 more nurses, and will soon publish a long-term workforce plan focused on recruiting and retaining more staff."
