Student money worries: ‘I often don’t eat so I can feed my children’
RCN survey finds two-thirds of nursing students have considered leaving their course due to finances, and warns ‘there is a danger of strangling careers before they’ve begun’
Many nursing students have considered dropping out of their course because of serious financial hardship, a new report suggests.
The survey by RCN Scotland of more than 1,000 students in the country found two-thirds (66%) had thought about leaving their nursing course because of money worries, with some saying they regularly do not eat so they can feed their children.
It found that the cost-of-living crisis, lack of opportunities to supplement income, and long delays in reimbursing expenses incurred while on placement, meant many students were struggling to make ends meet.
‘I’m exhausted physically and mentally – it’s not sustainable’
One adult nursing student quoted in the report said: ‘I don’t think I will be able to finish my degree if I don’t get more help financially.
‘I regularly don’t eat so I can feed my children. I am exhausted both physically and mentally trying to work and study, and it’s not sustainable.’
Mature students were more likely to consider quitting, with 70% of those aged 25 to 34 saying they had thought about dropping out, according to the survey.
RCN Scotland urges government to boost financial support for students
Students of all ages reported cutting down on food, delaying paying bills and avoiding using public transport in a bid to cut costs.
Almost all (99%) of those who responded to the survey said their finances caused them some level of concern.
Students also said financial hardship was having a serious impact on their health and ability to study.
RCN Scotland called on the Scottish Government to boost financial support on offer to students and to ensure it was in line with increases in living costs. Among the survey respondents, just 2% of those eligible for the nursing student bursary said it was enough to cover living expenses.
Students have to ‘persevere with the odds stacked against them’
Nursing student Lou Hyett-Collins, who is one of Scotland’s members on the RCN Students Committee, described the report’s findings as ‘heartrending’.
‘Behind every statistic are hundreds of individual nursing students trying to persevere with the odds stacked against them,’ she said. ‘The level of hardship being experienced, if it continues without significant action from the Scottish Government, is a threat to the current and future nursing workforce.’
Nursing course applications have fallen
The latest workforce figures show the overall number of nurses working in the NHS in Scotland has fallen despite efforts to recruit more.
There are around 4,000 vacancies, according to RCN Scotland, and applications to nursing courses have decreased.
RCN Scotland director Colin Poolman said: ‘The evidence from this survey strongly suggests there is a danger of strangling nursing careers and aspirations before they’ve properly begun.’
The Scottish Government has been approached for comment.
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