According to new UCAS data, Scotland has seen a 19% decline in nursing applications.
The Royal College of Nursing have voiced their concerns and have labelled the figure “significant”.
Research showed that only 6,450 people applied for a place on Scottish courses, compared to 7,930 in 2022 and 9,010 in 2021.
Furthermore, the number of applicants is below pre-pandemic levels - with 7,290 aspiring nurses having applied in 2019 at this stage of the UCAS cycle.
With 8.5% of registered nurse posts vacant at the end of March, the RCN said the lack of interest in nursing courses is a “cause for concern”.
RCN Scotland's director, Colin Poolman, said: "This significant drop in applications to nursing courses in Scotland is a real cause for concern amid the stubbornly high registered nurse vacancy rates and ongoing workforce challenges which are compromising patient safety and the wellbeing of staff."
He added: "The prospect of starting a degree course during a cost of living crisis is bound to be having an impact.
"Nursing is a hugely diverse profession and relies on attracting people of all ages and all walks of life, often as a second career.
"The Scottish government needs to demonstrate that nursing is valued and a career choice worth pursuing."
In response to the decline in applications, Scottish Labour health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie said: "Scotland already has more than 5,500 nursing and midwifery vacancies and a workforce stretched to breaking point.
"This collapse in applications is incredibly worrying and risks creating a staffing timebomb that will pile yet more pressure on our NHS."
Scottish Conservative deputy health spokesperson Tess White said: "The SNP's mismanagement of our health service is sadly putting people off wanting to become nurses, as they hear about the intolerable strain current staff are enduring.
"These figures need to be an urgent wake-up call."
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