Nursing students in Wales are our future professionals, ensuring we continue to deliver quality and effective research-based patient care, which is richly derived for the people of Wales.

Within our university sector, nursing students are taught and encouraged to become enquiring, inquisitive, questioning, and to aspire to be our future leaders advocating on behalf of our patients, whom we have the privilege to nurse or support others to deliver care under supervision.

Their peers, educators, and RCN Wales also teach them the finer art of becoming more politically astute; this is particularly evident in our nursing students who have taken on Student Ambassador and Nursing Student Committee representative roles on behalf of RCN Wales.

This has stemmed from the effective lobbying of Welsh politicians that was undertaken prior to the successful introduction of the ‘Nurse Staffing (Wales) Act 2016’. It also reflects the effective campaign undertaken when nursing students were pivotal in persuading politicians of the benefits this would have in the supervision and support for them in the clinical environment, ensuring they had a positive learning experience and, very importantly, that they achieved all their learning outcomes.

In addition, the use of the RCN Library Services at RCN Wales has been pivotal in the RCN supporting nursing students with the rigors of their academic studies. The virtual lending and search facilities have been invaluable, and many nursing students have commented that the excellent customer support provided by the library staff has been one of the major selling points for them to initially join the RCN, but just as importantly, to remain in continued membership of the RCN.

As an RCN Branch, Cwm Taf Morgannwg (CTM) has always supported nursing students as branch members to attend our Annual RCN Congress as voting branch members (especially if they are first-time attendees) and has encouraged them to contribute items to be considered for the agenda. As we as a branch have six voting seats, they have benefited from contributing to group discussions and from active participation whilst voting. In addition, many of them have contributed to debates at the podium and are very enthusiastic about shaping the future direction of the RCN.

The recent proposal by Cardiff University to close its Department of Nursing was a prime example of how the RCN in Wales supported our members of that university in fighting this proposal with reasoned arguments and with persistent lobbying of our politicians and critically through the press, which resulted in the proposal being withdrawn due to the pressure put on them, which nursing students in Wales played a major part in contributing to. And as importantly, they could see in real time the RCN fully supporting them in ensuring this vital department remained open to ensure the future nursing workforce is adequately maintained for the people of Wales.

Finally, it has been refreshing to see the nursing students’ enthusiasm and vitality at first hand, which I sincerely hope will not fade at any time throughout their professional careers.