A 20-year-old student nurse says she had no option but to work full-time night shifts in a factory to support herself and her parents, while trying to pursue her studies.
The student nurse, who didn’t want to be named, works 10-12 hour shifts earning the minimum wage while attempting to sleep and study during the day.
“My mother had a spinal surgery at the start of the year, which failed, and put her out of work, and my father works for his own business at home, where the workload always fluctuates, and it’s not enough to be totally dependent.”
The woman applied for and received a student loan of $1000, which she used to buy text books and her uniform.
She considered applying for a personal loan, but felt she was unlikely to be eligible, as she didn’t have a credit history.
“I considered it, but this combined with the financial instability of my parents at home, it wasn’t a smart option.”
Juggling work, study and placements had been extremely stressful and has affected her mental health, but she was determined to become a nurse eventually.
“I haven’t been able to connect with the people I study alongside with, nearly at all. That was one of the biggest things I looked forward to, heading into study.”
She is planning to study part-time, to complete a paper she failed, and work full-time next year.
The student nurse signed a petition started by Arya Zale in June this year calling for paid placements, saying it would make a huge difference to her financial stress.
“At least for the time when in a clinical placement, I’d be able to focus and be supported – even if the amount we earned wasn’t what I’d get working, any support at all, would change so much.”
NZNO’s Te Rūnanga Tauira (TRT) chair Manu Reiri (Ngāti Kahungunu ki te Wairoa) – who has just finished his second year in a bachelor programme at Southern Institute of Technology (SIT) in Invercargill – said things got so bad for him financially, he had often considered quitting the course.
” . . . things were starting to cave in, like there were times when I didn’t have enough money to buy food, so I’d go a couple of days without eating – which affects your study . . . . you can’t concentrate.”
Recently Reiri moved to Napier, where he has whānau support, and has decided to complete his study part-time.
While eligible for a student allowance, after paying rent of $200 per week, Reiri was left with only $100. To supplement this, he worked two minimum wage jobs – in a bar and as a netball umpire.
He drove the 40 minute route each way to a placement in Gore for several weeks, to avoid accommodation costs. But the cost of fuel was very difficult to afford while not able to work.
Reiri said he fully supported Zale’s petition as it aligned with NZNO’s calls for increased support for nursing students. This was particularly important for Māori and Pacific students, to address a major gap in the Māori and Pacific nurse workforce.
Zale, 40, who has a masters in psychology, enrolled for the masters in clinical practice programme with Massey University in mid-2021.
She realised student nurses were a vulnerable population without adequate support during a social justice course.
“I just couldn’t ignore it.”
Fellow students in her class helped her draft the petition, addressed to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Health Minister Andrew Little, Education Minister Chris Hipkins, and ” . . . all others with the power to enact change”.
As of November 23, the petition had gained over 23,000 signatures.
Zale, who lives in Kerikeri with her partner and two children, said she had spent over $6000 on accommodation for placements and labs, in addition to travel and child care costs. Just over one third of her cohort had dropped out since starting over a year ago.
Little told media last week he wanted to see paid placements for third year nursing students enacted – but NZNO professional and nursing services manager Mairi Lucas said this alone would not reduce the overwhelming financial pressures for all students.
“What we need is commitment to support students throughout their course, with an earn-as-you-learn model,” NZNO professional and nursing services manager Mairi Lucas said.
Taking a pause on nursing
Shiv Chawla, 28, was a fellow student with Zale, but has “put a pause” on the course after one year due to family commitments and becoming disillusioned on placements.
Observing the extreme staffing shortages, and financial pressures left him doubtful about the profession.
“I started going on clinical placements and I would just see the struggle that the nurses were being put through with a very unhealthy nurse-to-patient ratio.
“I started to hear stories of nurses finishing shifts and going to other work, on top of their nursing work. And that scared me.”