A quarter of student nurses in the UK quit their training courses before they qualify, new figures have revealed.

　　The Nursing Standard, which obtained the data under the Freedom of Information Act, said that even by conservative estimates the high drop-out rate was costing the NHS about ?57 million a year.

　　Experts said more needed to be done to reduce the number of trainee nurses leaving their courses before they finish.

　　The Government believes drop-out rates across the UK are now around 14% for nursing courses. But today's figures showed that some courses had rates as high as 50%, while others were as low as 7%.

　　Six universities refused to give their figures, while 17 were excluded from the analysis for reasons such as providing the wrong information. Out of 19,995 nursing students whose course was expected to finished in 2004, a total of 4,956 dropped out - an attrition rate of 24.8%.

　　Nurse training is estimated to cost around ?11,479 a year per nurse, including their bursary, and most students left during their first year of training. So experts agreed that a reasonable estimate for the annual costs of nurse student drop-outs in the UK was almost ? 57 million.

　　Susan Watt, student adviser at the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), said: "That is a huge amount of money. There is a lot to be said in investing that money sensibly.

　　"It's time to look seriously at this issue. It is also a waste of people resources. It's a lost opportunity for great nurses."

　　The RCN said the main reasons for students quitting were financial pressures, lack of childcare support and poor experiences on ward rounds. Some students are also struggling to cope with the academic demands of courses.

　　Nursing Standard editor Jean Gray says: "To lose a quarter of all students is a huge loss - in terms of the shattered hopes and dreams of thousands - but also in terms of the public purse. The statistics should serve as a warning for some serious review of how we are treating our nursing students."

　　英国《护理标准》杂志最近所作的一项调查显示：英国护理教育目前正面临着十分尴尬的处境，一方面社会需要大量合格的专业护理人员，但另一方面约有四分之一护理专业的学生在毕业之前，就半途而废。英国《护理标准》杂志根据近期所作的一项调查而得出的。

　　据《卫报》2月15日报道，在《护理标准》杂志进行调研的同时，英国政府也同时公布了自己的调查结果，其数字表明目前全英国护理专业学生的退学率为14%左右。不过《护理标准》杂志所作的调查表明，某些护理专业方面的学生退学率已经高达惊人的50%，而有些专业的退学率仅为7%。

　　该杂志所进行的调研表明，1.9995万本应在2004年毕业的护理专业学生中，4956人中途退学，退学率达到24.8%，其中大多数学生都是在入学的第一年就办理退学手续。

　　在英国，政府每年为每名护理专业学生支付的教育费用大约为1.1479万英镑，一些专家估计，中途退学每年给英国政府带来的损失大约为5700万英镑。

　　来自英国皇家护理学院的学生督导苏珊·沃特表示：“这可是一大笔钱啊。现在是到了人们认真对待这一问题的时候了。这简直是在浪费人力资源。”

　　关于护理专业学生高退学率的问题，英国皇家护理学院方面认为原因主要是经济方面的压力以及学生们在进行儿童保育和病房巡视等方面的学习时缺乏社会支持，另外还有一些学生退学是因为不能完成学校方面规定的学业要求。

　　《护理标准》杂志编辑珍妮·格蕾表示：“面对成千上万民众的需求和殷切希望，目前高达四分之一的退学率，对于社会来讲无疑是一个巨大的损失。希望以上数字能为人们敲响警钟，并帮助人们认真地思考一下应该如何善待这些护理专业的学生。”

　　为了改变目前护理教育所面临的不利局面，英国一些专家呼吁相关部门给予护理专业的学生以更多的关照，帮助他们顺利完成学业。

(责任编辑：徐斌)