Both David Cameron and the Shadow Health Secretary have said that nurses currently lack a clear training and career structure.

Speaking in an online q&a forum, the Conservative Party Leader say that a future government needed to "make sure training experiences are relevant" as there was "too much over-academicised training and not enough hands on training.''

Shadow Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley, added that nurses should have the same kind of structured training that doctors receive. He said that nurses would benefit from a clearer path from their training to senior positions such as nurse manager jobs, as currently "they have to fashion it for themselves.''

"Nurses quite understandably look at the professional education of junior doctors in the way in which it's organised for them and the career paths" said Lansley. ''[They] feel they don't get that sense of being helped through their career path".

Commenting on the statements, NHS West Midlands director of nursing and workforce development Peter Blythin said the party "had a point". Speaking to Nursing Times.net, Blythin said that placements for nurses in training needed to be reviewed to ensure that changes in technology, patient groups and service reconfigurations were incorporated.

"It's fair to say we need to continue to make nurses' training more purposeful and clear so people in the profession can grow and develop in their career" said Blythin.

Associate dean of King's College London, Alison While said that the nursing profession was hesitant to set minimum academic qualifications as "very senior people in nursing and midwifery professions may not be that educated themselves, so it might seem threatening to them".