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I owe my future career to the NHS bursary. Scrapping it is a mistake I owe my future career to the NHS bursary. Scrapping it is a mistake
(6 months later)
As a mature student the bursary afforded me the opportunity to leave full-time work and pursue a career in nursing. Axing the bursary presents a huge problem to future students and the NHS as a whole, and here’s why.As a mature student the bursary afforded me the opportunity to leave full-time work and pursue a career in nursing. Axing the bursary presents a huge problem to future students and the NHS as a whole, and here’s why.
Upwards of £50,000 debt does not sound to me like a winning incentive to encourage people from a diverse range of backgrounds to apply to study for a nursing degree. The average age of people applying to nursing is 29, many with previous degree debts; the changes will deter many mature students who simply cannot face the prospect of entering a profession with even more debt and low graduate wages.Upwards of £50,000 debt does not sound to me like a winning incentive to encourage people from a diverse range of backgrounds to apply to study for a nursing degree. The average age of people applying to nursing is 29, many with previous degree debts; the changes will deter many mature students who simply cannot face the prospect of entering a profession with even more debt and low graduate wages.
We are told that scrapping the bursary will create more nurse training places – and that’s fantastic, we need more nurses, but who’s going to train them? We barely have enough mentors to support the current students we have, let alone a sudden increase in numbers.We are told that scrapping the bursary will create more nurse training places – and that’s fantastic, we need more nurses, but who’s going to train them? We barely have enough mentors to support the current students we have, let alone a sudden increase in numbers.
Related: The future of nursing: bursaries versus loans
There appear to be contradictions with the new proposals. On the one hand we are told that nursing qualifications are expected to be of high quality and academic merit; on the other we are being told that the new nursing associate role can provide a stepping stone on to a degree-level vocational route. Why would anyone choose to take on huge debt, be forced into paying to work and choose to study at university if they could enter as a nursing associate then progress vocationally instead?There appear to be contradictions with the new proposals. On the one hand we are told that nursing qualifications are expected to be of high quality and academic merit; on the other we are being told that the new nursing associate role can provide a stepping stone on to a degree-level vocational route. Why would anyone choose to take on huge debt, be forced into paying to work and choose to study at university if they could enter as a nursing associate then progress vocationally instead?
Massive increases to university fees, axing of maintenance grants and bursaries, and changes to the terms of loan repayments make me wonder what’s next. We need a future NHS workforce that feels valued and respected, not one that feels increasingly demoralised and cheated from the start.Massive increases to university fees, axing of maintenance grants and bursaries, and changes to the terms of loan repayments make me wonder what’s next. We need a future NHS workforce that feels valued and respected, not one that feels increasingly demoralised and cheated from the start.
The changes, in my view, represent a botched attempt at a quick fix to a complex problem, and I worry that the long-term implications have not been properly considered.The changes, in my view, represent a botched attempt at a quick fix to a complex problem, and I worry that the long-term implications have not been properly considered.
I am not only incredibly grateful for my bursary, but also feel morally indebted to the NHS as a result. Put plain and simply – I owe my future career to the NHS bursary and, as such, feel a sense of loyalty to stay. Take it away and I fear that sense of loyalty among future students may be somewhat diminished.I am not only incredibly grateful for my bursary, but also feel morally indebted to the NHS as a result. Put plain and simply – I owe my future career to the NHS bursary and, as such, feel a sense of loyalty to stay. Take it away and I fear that sense of loyalty among future students may be somewhat diminished.
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