Half of nursing students in England have considered quitting, research shows
Nearly half of nursing students in England have considered quitting before completing their degrees amid the worst staffing crisis in the NHS’s history, the largest survey of its kind has found.
The number of applicants has fallen significantly since the end of a grant to support nursing students in 2017. Now a report from the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), seen by the Guardian, suggests that as many as 46% of applicants – around 32,000 students – could drop out.
The cost of living was the top reason for students leaving early, with seven in ten (70%) citing ‘financial hardship’ as a factor. Nursing students have to pay more than £9,000 a year in tuition fees.
“I realised that once I qualify and get paid, and after I pay off my tuition fees, I will be left with the same salary I was earning at McDonald’s when I was 18,” said a third-year student in Lancashire.
“I have wasted so much time and put my sweat, blood and tears into something that exhausts me before I even start and doesn’t even pay enough. It makes me sad for myself that this is the profession I chose.”
Nearly six in ten respondents (58%) said they had considered leaving their nursing education because they witnessed low morale and burnout among registered nurses.
Prof Nicola Ranger, acting general secretary and chief executive of the RCN, said: “Nursing is a highly skilled and wonderful profession, but the next generation of nurses are considering leaving before they graduate.”
She said the next government must take immediate action to prevent a mass exodus of nursing students.
The NHS long-term plan, published a year ago, aims to increase the number of nurses in England from around 350,000 to around 550,000 by 2036-37. But the number of people starting nursing degrees has fallen and if those already at university drop out en masse, the NHS could be short of tens of thousands of nurses.
Of the 1,528 nursing students who took part in the survey, 46% said they were considering leaving their course. According to the RCN, there are around 68,000 nursing students at university, suggesting that 32,000 have considered leaving.
Ranger said the next government should fund tuition fees for nursing students and reintroduce universal maintenance support.
“Government-funded training for nurses, good maintenance support and loan forgiveness for people working in the NHS would be money well spent. Building a nursing workforce fit for the future is the best investment any government can make, for the benefit of our vital services and wider society,” she said.
“Nursing students are the future of our health and care services, but they need support from the next government. It cannot be right that people who choose to dedicate their lives to patient care are racking up huge debts and struggling to meet the cost of living.
“To get the long-term workforce plan back on track, we need urgent action. Retaining and recruiting nursing staff is essential to reducing NHS waiting times and getting health and care services back on their feet.”
The introduction of nursing apprenticeships was intended to increase the appeal of nursing courses for those who wanted to earn an income while studying. However, data analysed by the RCN shows that participation in these courses is declining, by 20% in the past year.
In England, 3,420 people started nursing training in 2021-22. In 2022-23, the most recent year for which full figures are available, this number fell to 2,720.
Courses are also under threat from the financial crisis gripping universities. In an RCN survey of more than 500 nursing lecturers in England, three in five said they had been directly affected by redundancies, a staff restructure or a recruitment freeze.
Saffron Cordery, deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, an organisation representing NHS care homes in England, said the next government must solve the NHS staffing crisis if it wants to reduce waiting times.
“It is difficult to recruit and retain the staff the NHS needs in the current economic climate. We cannot afford to lose people who are training to be the nurses of tomorrow,” she said. “A future-fit NHS needs a thriving health and care workforce with greater, meaningful investment in nursing education.”
To recruit and retain nurses, action was also needed on pay in the NHS, Cordery said.
Wes Streeting, the Shadow Health Secretary, said: “Nurses are the backbone of our NHS and it is worrying that almost half of nursing students are considering abandoning their training. Staffing levels are already in crisis and it is vital that the next generation of nurses are enthusiastic about joining the profession so they can help the patients of tomorrow.”
Daisy Cooper, the Liberal Democrats’ health spokesperson, said: “The NHS is on its knees and it is no surprise that nursing students are considering quitting in such large numbers. This is the legacy of years of Conservative neglect.”
The Conservative Party did not respond to a request for comment.