The practice of relying on students to take on significant caring responsibilities, when they should be observing and learning on placements, is seriously impacting their mental and physical health and denying them the vital learning required to pass their degrees.
Clinical placements must be meaningful and students must be able to get the quality education they deserve without worrying about being taken advantage of.
Pre-registration students are required to complete 2,300 hours of clinical placements to pass their degrees, where they are considered to be “supernumerary”, meaning they are not counted as part of rostered staffing and are supervised by a registered nurse.
Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) standards say that students must not be counted as part of the staffing required for safe and effective care, making the practice a clear violation of the regulator. However, in last year’s Last Shift Survey, over one in three nurses (38.5%) said students did not hold supernumerary status on their last shift.
The academic requirements and amount of time spent on clinical placements, combined with the low level of financial support provided to them during their studies, is leaving students questioning their future in the profession and feeling isolated and burnt out.
We are calling for the Scottish government to urgently complete its review of nursing student finance and to commit to an annual cost of living increase in the student nurse bursary. Current financial support is not enough to cover rent, utility bills and travel costs, expenses which are essential to undertaking a nursing degree.
Yesterday our annual Congress in Liverpool heard directly from students about the impact of financial hardship and a system that is failing to attract and keep the nurses of the future.
Beth Moffatt, third year student at Edinburgh University and Scotland member of the our Student Committee said: “When there are shortages on placement, my fellow students report being put down as members of staff, even though they are students, and our learning suffers. Students must be given the opportunity to observe and learn, rather than treated as another member of nursing staff.
“We also need increased financial support. Many of us need to work to supplement our income and there simply aren’t enough hours in the week to complete our academic assignments, placements and work enough to ensure we can pay our bills.”
Over the last three years nearly 2,500 fewer nursing students started university than planned in the targets set by Scottish government. This trend means the gap between the number of registered nurses needed and the number entering the workforce is set to widen even further.
Colin Poolman, RCN Scotland Director, said: “Nursing is an amazing career, but the goodwill of our future nurses is being taken for granted. Students are routinely reporting that their learning is being compromised.
“Students on placement should be observing complex skills from registered professionals and exposed to a range of situations which prepare them for life on the job. It is unacceptable students across Scotland are having their education opportunities diminished and are being used to prop up understaffed wards following years of under investment in the nursing profession.
“This is on top of the financial strain they experience, trying to make ends meet while maintaining their studies. Students need support to learn and thrive in university, with guaranteed jobs in health and care when they qualify.
“Year on year fewer students are choosing nursing and many that do are forced to drop out. The Scottish government must urgently complete its review of the nursing student financial package and commit to improved support to ensure the nursing workforce of the future.”
You can add your support to our call on governments across the UK to make meaningful improvements to the financial support available for nursing students.
