Times of Malta, April 20, 2008 One of the reasons given for the nurses' union planned industrial action recently was the shortage of nurses. The union also implied that a reason for this shortage is the numerus clausus introduced to limit the number of students accepted at the University's Institute of Health Care (IHC). The IHC was established in 1987 to upgrade the nursing school set up at Saint Luke's Hospital in 1965. The institute's first health care course was the BSc Nursing Studies, with the first group graduating in June 1992. Other courses were launched in other health care specialisations at degree, diploma and certificate level. ... Nursing