It was an opportunity not only to learn how to organise around the issues affecting student nurses on placement, but also to build relationships, share experiences and recognise just how much we have in common. Across different universities and placements, many of the challenges facing students are strikingly similar.

At this year’s RCN Congress, members overwhelmingly supported calls for students to have access to quality clinical placements across the four countries and for nursing education to be protected.

I had the privilege with Ben White, Vice Chair of the RCN Students Committee, to lead a discussion titled “Eradicating Bullying and Harassment in Student Placements: From Awareness to Action.” The experiences shared reinforced why awareness alone is not enough. The session was packed with students, nursing staff and nurse educators from across the UK. While it was encouraging to see so many people invested in the conversation, it was also unfortunate that the subject resonated with so many. The experiences shared reinforced why awareness alone is not enough. Students need practical protections, clear expectations and meaningful routes for challenging poor placement experiences.

As a result, The RCN students committee have been exploring a draft student placement charter as a tool for students to organise with to tackle poor placements.

The Placement Charter is intended to provide a clear anchor for what students should be able to expect from universities and practice learning environments when undertaking clinical placements. At the RCN Students Festival in Manchester, we introduced the draft charter for feedback and led a session on student activism aimed at empowering students to understand their rights, speak up for themselves and to organise for change.

From conversation to action

Our work in Cardiff was another opportunity to build on the development of the Draft RCN Placement Charter and more importantly explore how to build strong networks of students organising for change.

Quality placement learning should not depend on where a student studies, which ward they are allocated to or whether they feel confident enough to challenge poor practice. Students deserve learning environments that are safe, supportive, educational and consistent with the standards we are told to expect throughout our nursing education.

Since this work began many months ago, students and colleagues have contributed extensively to the draft. Every conversation, challenge and piece of feedback has helped strengthen it.

Students are organising and refusing to be shoved aside

What I have found most incredible about this entire experience is seeing students stand up.

Students are refusing to be shoved aside.

They are refusing to accept poor treatment simply because they are “only students”.

They are refusing to be told that bullying, intimidation or damaging workplace cultures are simply things they must endure as part of becoming a nurse.

And they are increasingly demanding that the quality of their placements reflects the standards, values and expectations set out throughout their education.

That is exactly how it should be.

One question I hear regularly is: “But aren’t there already placement standards and policies?” 

There are, and they are important.

However, I think that question also highlights why the role of a trade union and professional body must be understood.

Health services, education providers, regulators and national organisations will all have their own policies, standards and responsibilities. But the RCN has a distinct responsibility to advocate for its members and the nursing profession.

As both a professional body and a trade union, we should be clear about what our members should expect from practice learning and what they can point to when those expectations are not being met.

There is also a four-country dimension to this work. The UK is not one health system. England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each have different structures, policies and arrangements. Regional and national standards remain important, but there is real value in having an RCN Charter that gives student members a shared foundation wherever they study.

Practice learning is not an optional part of nursing education. It is where students develop their confidence, judgement, skills and professional identity. The environments in which we train will inevitably influence the nurses we become.

That is why this work matters.

I feel incredibly privileged to be in post at such an important moment for student organising within the RCN. What began as conversations about the experiences students were having on placement is becoming something much bigger: students across the UK recognising their collective voice and using it.

There is still more work to do, and we want students to continue shaping it.

If you have experiences, ideas or contributions that could help strengthen this work, please get in touch.

We have a drop in for students organising on placement issues on the 5th of October. Please sign up and connect with other students who want to organise.

Sign up here: Drop in – students organising to tackle placement issues | Royal College of Nursing