Places would need to increase by around 32,000, from 40,400 in 2022/23 to 72,400 by 2031/32.
Students may be required to undertake a further 8 weeks of placement time after their university calculated placement hours incorrectly.
Just 39,900 applications were received for undergraduate nursing courses across the UK, down from 53,280 in 2021.
The long-awaited NHS workforce plan suggests reducing the number of placement hours required to qualify as a registered nurse.
It comes as the government attempts to plug massive NHS workforce gaps alongside falling numbers of trainee nurses.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) warns the move may come at the risk of "jeopardising" nursing as a graduate...