ABSTRACT
There is a likelihood in the future that general practitioner employers will have to ensure that practice nurses are properly educated for the job. It will become compulsory for them to be educated specifically for this role, and to be properly updated from time to time. Practice nurse education has been the subject of much debate since the publication of the Cumberledge Report. This report states that practice nurses have little educational preparation for their work and have been taught procedures by doctors rather than nurses. It is interesting to note that in the United States, when the first nurse practitioners were trained, they were taught by doctors. Eventually, there were sufficient nurse practitioners with enough experience to become tutors themselves, and the courses are now headed by nurses.
