The essence of the story is that the government has cut the bursaries for student nursing, meaning they get less money to help pay their way through their education, this is a problem since because they need to get on the job experience at least 40 hours a week at hospitals in their spare time which is unpaid they are not able to earn money during education. this change has caused the number of applicants for nursing to fall. We want to report on this story and try to get both sides of the arguement if possible.
"Applications by students in England to nursing and midwifery courses at British universities have fallen by 23% after the government abolished NHS bursaries, figures show."
'I will qualify as a registered midwife in September. I am on clinical placements at least 37.5 hours a week, alongside studying full time for a Bachelor of Science degree. How could I find a part-time job that would fit alongside this? Especially as I often have to work night shifts and weekends. Huge responsibilities also come with this course - we are each expected to deliver at least 40 babies across the three year programme.'
'I received a full NHS bursary, £450 a month, for three years. It was essential for allowing me to afford the cost of living in London, especially since I come from a working-class family and am the first in the family to go to university. Even with the bursary, my colleagues and I still experienced financial hardship. Choosing to undertake the course without the bursary would have been a difficult decision to make.'
"As a student nurse you basically work a full-time job in a hospital and fit your degree work around that, so there is no chance of doing paid work to help support yourself"
"David Green, vice-chancellor of Worcester University, one of the leading institutions for nursing, says: “I don’t believe the policy intention with scrapping bursaries was to expand places; I think it was just to save money. The fact the training placements haven’t increased shows there was no plan to increase numbers.”"
Nursing Times. 2017. Health Education England cuts 'put nurse CPD at risk' | News | Nursing Times. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.nursingtimes.net/news/workforce/health-education-england-cuts-put-nurse-cpd-at-risk/7020666.article. [Accessed 05 October 2017].
BBC News. 2017. Five things that could happen next with tuition fees - BBC News. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-41308396. [Accessed 05 October 2017].
The Guardian. 2017. Nursing degree applications slump after NHS bursaries abolished | Education | The Guardian. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2017/feb/02/nursing-degree-applications-slump-after-nhs-bursaries-abolished. [Accessed 05 October 2017].
The Guardian. 2017. 'My bursary was essential': readers on ending healthcare training bursaries | Society | The Guardian. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/aug/01/my-bursary-was-essential-readers-on-ending-healthcare-training-bursaries. [Accessed 05 October 2017].
The Guardian. 2017. Government ‘reneging on promise to fund 10,000 extra nursing places’ | Education | The Guardian. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2017/jun/27/fund-extra-nursing-training-places-dropped-universities. [Accessed 05 October 2017].
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