Giving nursing apprenticeships to younger people would give hands-on training you can't get from a book.
That's according to nurse Emma-Kate, who was speaking as Britain announced plans to give school-leavers on-the-job training to help address workforce shortages.
It could see tens of thousands of doctors and nurses join its health service via apprenticeships.
Emma-Kate told Lunchtime Live this approach would be something she'd support here.
"I know that was the case before and you learned on the job - I trained in the UK myself," she said.
"It was less academic and more hands-on, more placement type.
"You do learn while you're working and doing the job".
She said this can be a better approach.
"With nursing you learn looking after the patient in person, rather than reading it in a book," she said.
"I've spoken to some students recently, and they were saying they'd prefer a more hands-on approach to it.
"They're in college for so long and then they get to come out to the wards, and it's kind of a shock to the system.
"They've learned so much, but putting it into practice is really when they learn".
Emma-Kate said such a scheme would only work "if you had the staffing levels that we need to provide the teaching for these apprentices."
'Hands-on is just not there'
Clara, a retired nurse, said something needs to change as nurses are "coming out with an academic training rather than a practical one."
"The hands-on is just not there," she said.
"I think across the medics - I'm including doctors here - if you train and you qualify in the country, I think you should have to sign up for at least a year after you qualify to pay back something to the country.
"What's happening now is people are getting the training... they get qualified, and then the minute they're qualified they go abroad.
"I think it's a pity because we're losing so many people to other countries".
'Too immature'
Clara said coming straight out of a school environment into nursing may not be the best idea for everyone.
"I personally think people from school are too young to start nurse training," she said.
"It does vary from person to person... but basically if you're coming out of school and you go straight into nurse training, I do think that sometimes you're too immature and you haven't had enough life experience.
"It can be quite stressful for a young person to come from a school environment straight into nursing and see somebody dying, or even having to assist with death or serious illness.
"I would suggest that you couldn't train until you were about 21, so that you've been out in the world and you've had a job and you've got some life experience," she added.
'A bit too early'
Ralph, who is also a nurse, said we need to know more about any such scheme.
"At the moment we really don't really know a huge amount about it," he said.
"We don't know how it can be implemented here... I think it's just a bit too early to say if it can be a good idea.
"If it gets more nurses into the field, then what's wrong with that?
"[However] until we actually have concrete figures on how successful it is, and how many nurses that we do retain after it, then we can maybe have a much better opinion," he added.
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