UNIVERSITIES might be selecting the wrong people to become nurses, according to a radical article written by nurse trainers in Scotland.

The academics warn that far from being "angels" there maybe some people in the job who lack the necessary compassion.

The article, which also suggests the way nurses are taught may need to be revised, draws together views on how care failures such as those uncovered in Mid Staffordshire can be prevented in future.

Written by those involved in nurse education in Abertay, Edinburgh, Stirling, and Napier universities, as well as Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust, it calls on people to reflect what they can do to protect patient care - rather than simply blaming systemic failures when things go wrong.

Lead author Dr Rosie Stenhouse, of Edinburgh University, said : “There is no question that, in most cases, the care provided by nurses is very good. Compassion is at the heart of what we do. But we can’t ignore the fact that poor care does exist....

“People often blame the system, but in this article we go deeper than that and discuss some fairly radical views, including the idea that there might be a fundamental lack of compassion in some of the individuals who become nurses. Nursing is seen in many ways as being untouchable – that everyone who does it is an angel – but the evidence suggests that this isn’t always the case."

The article quotes a nurse who, using strong language, said they did not care if patients had to wait. The article continues: "Put simply, it may be that some of our nursing workforce do not have the personal qualities required for the role. The debate therefore is raised as to whether some nurses lack compassion and the other personal qualities required for nursing."

Drawing on philosophy used to explain the holocaust, the article published in Nurse Education Today, also talks about individual nurses becoming so concerned with completing tasks and meeting health authority expectations they lose sight of the importance of providing care and relieving suffering.

Co-author Robin Ion, from Abertay University, said: “As education providers, we need to be aware of what can happen when this type of ‘habituated thoughtlessness’ – as (philosopher Hanna Arendt) put it – prevails, and balance the need to help students develop the problem solving skills they need to carry out procedures effectively, with the equally important ability to ‘stop and think’, ask questions of, and challenge the nature of these systems themselves.”