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Hospital nurses are set to train alongside medical students for the first time ever, in a bid to ease the pressure and long hours currently placed on junior doctors.
A pioneering training course developed by Northumbria Healthcare Trust will see 12 nurse practitioners train alongside medical students at the University of Newcastle.
After the nurses have completed the six-month programme, it is hoped they will be able to take on some basic medical tasks, such as taking blood samples and interpreting x-rays - duties traditionally carried out by junior doctors.
Although the nurses will not replace junior doctors, it is hoped the scheme can help ease the excessively long hours worked by doctors across the country.
