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Overworked, unpaid, and underprepared - that is how many nursing students describe their three years of training.
In the last week, Auckland University of Technology has been under fire from dozens of nursing students dissatisfied with how the university is treating their concerns about the degree.
Students from other nursing schools across New Zealand have now come forward, saying the issues are not unique to AUT.
And while most education providers acknowledged the demanding nature of the course, students said the degree must move with the times.
Sophie*, a second-year student at Ara Institute of Canterbury, said the structure of the course needed an overhaul, with little cohesion between what was taught in class and on placement
"They have a very archaic view of what it's like to be a nursing student in 2022."
Sophie called nursing school "death by PowerPoint", and said many lectures contained broken links or information outdated by Covid-19.
She said sometimes, lectures came after the assessments they were meant to be preparing students for.
Sophie recalled an exam that included questions about intramuscular injections, a topic she had not yet studied: "The next day after the exam we had a lesson on how to give intramuscular injections, and then the tutor was like, 'these might be in your drug calculations exam'.
"We were like, 'We've already had the exam'."
Sophie said many of her classmates failed this assessment, but the institute never addressed the blunder.
When it came time to start a new clinical placement, she often felt underprepared by lectures that did not cover the relevant field of health.
She described her conversation with the liaison nurse on her first day at a mental health ward: "She was like, 'Okay, so what do you know about this area and about these mental disorders?'
"We were like, 'We know nothing, because we haven't been taught anything'."
Second-year Unitec student Lucy* said she had come close to pulling out of her degree due to stress.
Nursing schools placed unrealistic expectations on their students and did not have any flexibility to deal with unforeseen circumstances, she said.
"To do a 40-hour week for eight weeks straight and not expect somebody to maybe have a family emergency or be sick - I think that's quite unrealistic."
Nursing students had to complete a minimum of 1100 hours clinical practice during their study.
Lucy said there was no margin of error factored in and missing even one day could have a snowball effect.
"My placement was meant to start on Labour Day, but it was a public holiday, so I was told I couldn't go to placement.
"Now the issue is, 'Well, you've missed eight hours - you need to make those up'."
New Zealand Nurses Organisation president Anne Daniels said understaffing was to blame for many of the problems within the nursing degree.
There were not enough skilled teachers in nursing schools or supervisors on clinical placements - but she proposed a solution, she said.
"What we need to do is capture and incentivise the older nurses who have got the skills, the experience, and the ability to mentor student nurses in their placements in a supernumerary position where they will stay working but they don't have to deal with the horrendous workloads that they do now."
Daniels said her proposal would provide a more nurturing environment for students and take pressure off the registered nurses currently expected to oversee them.
The Nurses Organisation would also pressure the government to introduce earn-as-you-learn incentives for nursing students, she said.
In a statement, Ara Institute of Canterbury general manager Darren Mitchell said both learners and their tutors had experienced challenges and disruptions due to covid-19.
"Systems and structures in their educational pathway have on occasion been disrupted.
"Ara-Te Pūkenga has responded in collaboration with the Nursing Council and Te Whatu Ora to address these circumstances to ensure that our nursing students can maintain continuity in their studies and successfully achieve the learning necessary to become a registered nurse."
Mitchell said he was aware of the concerns raised by some students.
The institute had responded by introducing additional support mechanisms, including increased access to free counselling, creating better channels to raise concerns, and holding regular meetings where students were invited to discuss learning challenges with staff, he said.
Mitchell said he took the wellbeing of learners seriously and welcomed their feedback.
Unitec reviewing matters
A Unitec spokesperson also acknowledged the concerns of its students.
The spokesperson said the institute was working to assess, review, and improve the quality of support and service it provided.
"Nurses play a critical role in supporting the health and wellbeing of people in need of care across the health sector and anyone pursuing the degree is advised of the significant level of commitment required."
The spokesperson said Unitec understood that having to complete 1100 clinical hours across the three-year degree could take a significant toll on learners and their families.
"We also acknowledge many students need to work significant hours in their part-time jobs to support themselves and their families."
The spokesperson said Unitec's recent learners had faced additional pressure navigating their programmes through the restrictions of covid-19.
"Many were not able to secure clinical placements or access sim labs due to the restrictions and they have had to make up the hours that were lost throughout that period."
*Names of students in this story have been changed.
