Student nurses 'take second jobs'
Updated on 26 November 2008
Most nursing students have been forced to take a second job because they are "saddled with debt", according to a new report.
A survey of 4,500 students across the UK also found that almost half had considered quitting their studies altogether, usually for financial reasons.
The Royal College of Nursing said its study showed that half of nursing students were working more than 10 hours a week in a second job to make ends meet, which was having a "seriously negative" effect on their studies.
General secretary Dr Peter Carter said: "It's clear that nursing students are struggling to keep their heads above water because they're saddled with debt and the support on offer is far from ideal.
"We all want a first class health service and nurses are absolutely integral to achieving this, but government need to realise that the inadequate bursary system is a factor in people dropping out of courses.
"We're talking about the nurses of the future, the people who we will expect to hold the health service together in years to come. These are people who want to deliver the very best patient care yet the system doesn't provide the necessary support so that they can qualify in the first place.
"With 180,000 nurses due to retire within a decade, this country already faces a nurse recruitment time bomb, so this isn't the time to under invest in the nurses of the future.
"The government needs to introduce a liveable non-means tested bursary of £12,000 so that fees and spiralling living costs don't stop nurses from staying the course, completing their studies and delivering high quality care for years to come."
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