Posted 31 March 2023 - 15:30
Posted 31 March 2023 - 15:30
News
Ditch fees and pay for placements: a nurse-led workforce plan
Better pay, fee-free training, paid placements and summer holidays for students would boost recruitment, say nurses, as long as toxic workplaces are fixed first
Better pay, fee-free training, paid placements and summer holidays for students would boost recruitment, say nurses, as long as toxic workplaces are fixed first
Fee-free university courses and summer holidays for students are the best ways to attract more nurses into the profession, according to Nursing Standard readers.
Nurses offer their solutions to the staffing crisis
Following a partial leak of the government’s much-anticipated NHS workforce report, which reportedly claims the UK needs to train an extra 23,000 nurses a year to address the staffing crisis, we asked nurses what would encourage more people to consider a career in the profession.
A decent pay rise was top of the list, alongside paying nursing students when they are on clinical placements.
‘A decent pay award and better working conditions would help,’ one nurse said on Twitter.
‘Not feeling like your put your patients or PIN at risk every time you work. I could never go back to ward work for fear of both of those things.’
Many nurses agreed that supporting students financially was key to attracting more people into the profession, as nurses are no longer paid for their clinical placements and graduate from university with crippling debt.
Life for nursing students described as ‘brutal and isolating’
One student said: ‘As a current nursing student, I can be honest and say pay is a huge factor. Weekends, nights, long days that we don't get paid. And those on student loans after graduation are in £80,000 debt. Nursing students save lives too.’
Another suggested: ‘Improve student nurse conditions, give them summer and Christmas off and reduced placement hours so they can have a university experience more in line with their fellow students. Nursing school is brutal and isolating and deters a lot of young adults.’
Calls to tackle toxic workplace culture – and then focus on recruitment
As well as improving financial support for students many nurses suggested free parking, flexible hours, subsidised childcare and again, a substantial pay rise that reflects the skills of the profession.
Others suggested changes to the education system, tackling a toxic culture and increasing the numbers of apprentices.
But one nurse said that getting more nurses to train was not the answer to the workforce crisis and without fixing the health service it was just pouring water into a leaky bucket.
‘Training more nurses will not solve the workforce crisis if more people are leaving the profession all the time. You can pour as much water into a bucket with holes in as you like, you’re still never going to fill it up.’
In other news