New term, new nurses, new academic emphasis is very much the direction of nurse education these days. I wonder what will be said to those prospective pre-registration nurses who will be starting out on their careers in nursing over the next few weeks. It may seem a long time since many of us commenced our nurse training and education, and I am sure the early experiences of that time varied according to the school of nursing. The matron’s first talk or the principal tutor’s first address usually contained references to the state of the nursing profession and the role and behaviour expected of the student. With the merger into higher education and the involvement of a more academic content in nurse education, I am sure that the welcoming address has shifted its slant to a more evidence-based approach to care and a more scholarly responsibility