The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) says that the practice of using nursing students to make up staff gaps while on clinical placements must end.
The RCN has written to the secretaries of state for health and education to call for the misuse of students’ supernumerary – or additional – status to be eradicated. It has also asked for better financial support for students and loan forgiveness to encourage recruitment.
“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,” said Nicola Ranger, general secretary and chief executive of the college.
Pre-registration students are required to complete 2,300 hours of clinical placements where they’re considered to be supernumerary – 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.
Diminished opportunities
“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’s unacceptable that those same students not only have their education opportunities diminished but are also being used to prop up understaffed wards following years of underinvestment in the nursing profession,” said Ranger.
The academic requirements and amount of time spent on unpaid clinical placements, combined with the low level of financial support provided to them during their studies, are forcing students to work multiple jobs on top of their degrees.
Students report working dangerous 60-hour weeks, being driven into personal debt, reliant on university hardship funds, questioning their future in the profession and feeling isolated and burnt out.
Currently, the college says, financial support is not enough to cover rent, utility bills, travel costs and expenses, which are essential to undertaking a nursing degree.
“We need the introduction of universal maintenance grants that recognise student nurses’ unique situation and a loan forgiveness model for those who commit to working in the public sector,” said Ranger.
