profession which now includes hundreds of non-Bermudians from places as far-flung as India and Hong Kong.

Council chairperson Mrs. Kereen Richards noted it had been difficult to attract young Bermudians to the nursing profession despite the creation of a financial awards scheme offering four $3,000-a-year awards to nursing students.

Mrs. Richards, also unit co-ordinator of King Edward VII Memorial Hospital Emergency Department, told Hamilton Lions at their weekly lunch yesterday that she and other nurses were hoping an already drafted amendment to the Bermuda Nurses Act 1969 would find its way to the House of Assembly before the year was up.

The Act governs how nurses function and sets out regulations for working in Bermuda. The annual nurses re-licensing regulation put in place here as well as other jurisdictions in 1974 was not enough, she said.

Mrs. Richards said of the 698 nurses working in Bermuda, 342 were Bermudian, the rest were from overseas.

In the past, the majority of nurses came from the United Kingdom and Canada and some from the United States. "It was easy to keep control of and monitor the profession,'' she said.

"But now nurses are coming to Bermuda from all over the world, including Australia, New Zealand, Africa, Saudi Arabia, India and in the last two years we've had a lot of inquiries from Hong Kong,'' she said. "As you can see we have a problem. The credential process has become quite a big job to ensure Bermuda is supplied with qualified, registered and enrolled nurses.'' Mrs. Richards said the amended Nurses Act would also cover changes in nursing education, which now often requires completion of a four-year degree as opposed to a three-year qualification. There were also many fields of nursing and increasingly, nurses were going into the community via others -- or their own -- private practices.

"Nursing has blossomed so much,'' she said. "Not to downplay the role of the bedside nurse, but computer and technical skills are required and nurses must be able to correctly follow doctors' orders.'' "It's vital nurses go to accredited schools,'' she added.

Mrs. Richards said it was her "greatest wish'' as Council chairperson to see the Act updated "so as to ensure we function legally''. We have outgrown our Act.'' Mrs. Richards urged any Bermudians interested in nursing careers to stop by the Council's office in the Health Ministry between 10 a.m. and noon. She said the financial awards were advertised in May and June.