Financial concerns affecting mental health of 74% of nursing students, RCN warns

Almost three-quarters of nursing students say their financial situation affects their mental health, a survey suggests.

The Royal College of Nursing Scotland said many student nurses are considering leaving their courses because they can no longer afford to keep studying the profession.

It surveyed 1,046 nursing students in January and February this year.

At 99%, almost all respondents said their finances cause some level of concern.

Meanwhile, 74% said it is having a “high” impact on their mental health and 48% said it affects their physical health.

Colin Poolman, RCN Scotland director, said: “Nursing is a hugely rewarding profession and many nurses go on to enjoy a long and varied career.

“But the evidence from this survey strongly suggests that there is a danger of strangling nursing careers and aspirations before they’ve properly begun.

“The Scottish Government must sit up and listen to what nursing students are telling them in this report.

“As the report from our survey sets out, all of this means that the Scottish Government must improve financial support to show that nursing is truly a valued profession.

“With persistently high levels of registered nurse vacancies, we can’t allow more nursing students to drop out.

“We’ve also seen applications to nursing courses drop alarmingly so that not all places on university courses are being filled.

“The Scottish Government has responded by capping nursing student numbers for the next three years, but what we really need to see are efforts to make nursing an attractive profession to pursue once again.”