Information for England on the average cost of training each nurse and doctor for the entire period between entering onto a degree or diploma course until full registration, inclusive of tuition, bursary and salary support costs are given in the following table.
Staff group 2005-06 cost (£) Nurse diploma (bursaried) 40,225 Nurse degree (bursaried) 28,410 Nurse secondee (salaried) 61,255 Doctor 200,000-250,000 Source: Financial and Workforce Information Return (FWIR) November 2004 and NHS Student Grant Unit for nurse bursaries.
In the period between entry to medical school and full registration, it is estimated that training a doctor costs between £200,000 and £250,000. Doctors generally continue training after full registration. As the duration and nature of post-registration training varies greatly, and as service and training costs are closely related, it is not possible to provide a meaningful estimate of the total cost of training.