REGIONAL NSW universities will be the main beneficiaries of a Federal Government decision to create an extra 310 student nurse places in the state next year as part of its policies to overcome shortages of health professionals.

The Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, yesterday announced the carve-up between the states of an extra 1094 federally funded university places for nursing students, which Labor had promised before last year's election.

Most of the NSW allocation of 310 places have been given to universities in regional centres including the University of Newcastle, the University of Wollongong, Charles Sturt University and Southern Cross University.

Mr Rudd said it was critical for the future of the hospital system to train more qualified nurses.

He said that each year "there are literally thousands of young people who want to get into nursing courses across Australia who can't get in".

"In 2006 there were about 2500 who were turned away from university courses because there were simply not enough places, and at the same time we have got a shortage of nurses nationwide."

Mr Rudd said the Government wanted about 60 per cent of the students taking up the new training places next year to do their work placements in rural and regional areas where shortages of medical staff were most acute.

In addition to funding extra nursing places at universities, the Government is planning to pay bonuses to attract nurses who have dropped out of the health workforce back into the hospital system. It wants to increase the number of nurses in public and private hospitals by 9250 over five years.