Student Nurses: The Pressure Of Work

A third of student nurses (35%) are left in charge of patients in the absence of registered nurses and doctors, according to a MORI Social Research Institute survey. The research reveals more than a quarter (28%) of first year students are also left alone in charge of patients

28 April 2003

The survey, commissioned by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), shows more than one in 10 (13%) students have been left in charge of patients on more than five occasions. Half of all students (50%) had seriously considered leaving the profession and one in 10 seriously considers leaving on a frequent basis. Typically, students cite issues around the pressure and stress of work as the main reasons.

A quarter (23%) say the work is too stressful, and one in five (20%) find the amount of work, the unsociable hours or shift work too demanding. The financial impact on student nurses continues to be a large factor as more than a quarter of those who had think about leaving (28%) say financial hardship and money worries make them seriously consider leaving.

The survey found that 42% of student nurses have children to care for whilst juggling study and clinical placements, dispelling the myth of student nurses as young school leavers without dependants. In fact, one in 10 students consider leaving their course because of their childcare responsibilities or other family concerns.

Despite the very real difficulties experienced during nurse education, the vast majority of student nurses (89%) say they still intend to work in the NHS once they are on the nursing register. Over half say they always wanted to nurse and a quarter (24%) worked in healthcare previously.

Technical details

MORI conducted this research with a random sample of student nurses from the RCN's database. 1000 telephone interviews were conducted using CATI (Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing) between 23 March -- 3 April 2003 across the UK. Quotas were set during fieldwork and the results have been weighted by country/region and ethnic origin.

Topline Results

Results are based on 1,000 interviews with RCN student nurse members
Interviews were carried out by telephone between 23 March and 3 April 2003
Results are weighted by country/region and ethnic origin
An asterisk (*) represents a value of less than half of one per cent, but not zero
Where results do not sum to 100, this is due to computer rounding or multiple answers
Base All (1,000) unless otherwise specified

Q1 I am going to read out a list of branches of nursing. Could you tell me in which of these branches of nursing you are currently studying i.e. working in?

	%
Adult	73
Child	14
Mental Health	12
Learning disabilities	2
Midwifery	*
Other	*
Don't know	-
Refused	-

Q2 I am going to read out a list of areas in which a nurse might work after qualifying as a registered nurse. In which, if any, of these areas do you envisage working once you are registered?

	%
Working as a nurse in the NHS	89
Working as a nurse in the independent sector	2
Working as a nurse abroad	4
Working as a nurse in the armed forces	2
Working as a nurse for an agency full-time	*
Working as a nurse in some other capacity	*
Not working as a nurse, but working	*
Not working at all	-
Don't know	4
Refused	-

Q3 How often, if at all, have you seriously considered leaving nurse training? Would you say...

	%
...Frequently	10
...Occasionally	20
...Rarely	20
...Or never	50
Don't know / Can't remember	-

Q4 Why was / is that?

Base: All who have frequently, occasionally or rarely considered giving up nursing (475)

	%
Responsibility / Pressure of job
There is too much work involved / long / unsociable hours / shift working	20
The work is / I find the work too difficult / complicated	11
The work is too stressful	23
Lack of support	10
Too much responsibility	2
Fear of making a mistake/endangering patients' health	-
Ethical issues / dilemmas	*
Losing interest
Losing/Lost interest in nursing	1
There are / were other things I am more interested in	1
Personal / Family Reasons
Family reasons / Pregnancy	5
Children to care for	5
Personal / Health reasons	3
Other Reasons
The way nursing / the NHS is going / fears for the future	2
Financial hardship / Money worries / Low pay	28
Bullying / Harassment	1
Insufficient numbers of senior staff / Lack of supervision	4
Inconsistency / Conflict between teaching in the School of Nursing and actual practice on the wards	5
Unsatisfactory practice placement	9
Travel to my placement was too far	4
Other	8
...Study workload is too much/Balancing workload and study	6
...The course/college is disorganised	3
...Some parts of the course are irrelevant	2
...Cancellation of lectures	1
...Failed exam(s)	1
...Timetable problems	1
...Lack of respect/understanding of qualified staff	1
...Poor/bad attitude of tutors	1
...Some of the course content is repetitive	*
...We were not made to feel welcome on the course	*
Don't know / Can't remember	2
Refused	*

Q5 Thinking now about all of the clinical placements you have taken as a student e.g. on the wards or in the community, how frequently, if at all, have you been left in charge of a patient or patients in the absence of a registered/qualified nurse or doctor? By 'absence' I mean when a qualified/registered nurse or doctor was not present anywhere on the ward. Would you say....

	%
...once	7
...twice	7
...three to five times	7
...more than five times	13
...Or never	63
Haven't been on a placement	2
Don't know / Can't remember	1
Refused	*

Q6 During your studies, has there ever been an instance when you were due a placement but did not receive one, or not?

Base: All who have been on a placement (984)

	%
Yes	12
No/Never	88
Don't know / Can't remember	*
Refused	-

Q7 Why did you not receive a placement?

Base: All who were due a placement but didn't receive one at some time (98)

	%
I did not have the necessary skills	-
Personal reasons	1
There were already too many students in the placement area	19
There were insufficient mentors available	7
There were no available placements	53
Other	20
Don't know / Can't remember	5
Refused	-

Q8 Again, thinking about all of the clinical placements you have taken as a student, have you ever had a placement that has not involved direct contact with patients, or not?

Base: All who have been on a placement (984)

	%
Yes	9
No/Never	91
Don't know / Can't remember	*

Q9 What, if anything, made you want to train to be a nurse?

	%
Personal Experience
One of my friends / relatives was already a nurse / Nursing is in the family	8
I was previously involved in working in healthcare	27
Being nursed myself / Being in hospital myself	3
Seeing a friend/relative being nursed	4
Vocational
I've always wanted to be a nurse / Vocational / I wanted to care for people	59
Opportunities
Career opportunities	13
Potential to combine travel and work / Opportunity to work overseas	1
Ease of Entering Nursing
Several ways of accessing / entering training / Wide entry gate into training	1
Didn't get the grades for another course	*
Thought about becoming a doctor but entry requirements too tough / training too long	1
Other	14
Don't know	3
Refused	-

More insights about Public Sector

Society