Posted 14 December 2022 - 10:00
Posted 14 December 2022 - 10:00
News
Students left despondent as nurses struggle to provide mentoring
Lack of support on placements makes students ‘feel awful’ and could contribute to decisions to quit, says nursing student, sparking discussion on Twitter
Lack of support on placements makes students ‘feel awful’ and could contribute to decisions to quit, says nursing student, sparking discussion on Twitter
Nursing students are being left despondent because mentors do not always have time to support them on clinical placements and this could be contributing to decisions to quit, a nursing student has said.
Nurses are struggling to find time to provide mentoring for students
Chronic understaffing and high pressures are resulting in many nurses being left without the time to help nursing students with the clinical placements they need to do to complete their degree.
Adult nursing student Amy said on Twitter it was no surprise many students were leaving as it made them feel ‘awful’.
She was inundated with replies, with other students sharing similar experiences and nurse mentors explaining that they were often struggling with ‘massive pressures’.
‘I feel incredibly fortunate that I’ve worked with such welcoming and fantastic teams who appreciate students. How can any nurse be so dismissive of future nurses?’ a nursing associate asked.
A ward sister urged qualified nurses to remember students are the next generation of nurses. But many pointed out it wasn’t as straightforward as offering mentorship. One haematology nurse said they were being pulled in ‘1,000 different directions’ on each shift.
Others said it was a problem that had been going on for many years, with one claiming her mentor ‘deliberately took days off to avoid working with me’ in 2002.
Simulation training could be used to ease the problem
Birmingham City University’s head of adult nursing Kevin Crimmons told Nursing Standard it was part of a knock-on effect of nursing staff becoming more overstretched. He suggested more simulated hours, instead of 50% of course time being spent on placements, could help ease the problem.
‘If you're a nurse just about coping then the added pressure of a student can sometimes be the tipping point’, he said.
‘All trusts get tariff money for accepting students. Maybe more of that money needs to find its way down to developing the teaching abilities of other qualified nurses.’
The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) requires nursing students to complete 2,300 hours of clinical placement – half of the 4,600 total course hours. Universities allocate placement blocks within different areas of nursing.
In 2021, the NMC introduced simulated learning for students in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which meant students could undertake up to 300 hours of practical learning in a simulated environment rather than in-person.
RCN UK deputy director of nursing education, research and ethics Nichola Ashby said a shortage of staff meant that ‘nurses are already under so much pressure that supervising a student is just too much in some cases’.
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