Nursing students shouldn’t have to travel so far

I have just read on a university website for nursing that students can be expected to travel up to 2 hours away for their placements. Not only this but the university will ‘aim to not exceed this however this might be unavoidable due to placement numbers.

That is ridiculous. Four hours travelling everyday (that will likely be without traffic) when students are already exhausted from learning new skills all day. Where’s the work life balance?

I think that if placements are more than 1.5 hours away then hours should be reduced or a max of 3 days should be worked. The fact that placements are a means to an end and the students are being assessed is just a way to take advantage.

I thought I had it hard with my 2 hour commute one day per week.

Reply 1

londonmyst

19

The professionals involved in teaching & recruitment must emphasize the heavy student workloads, significant potential for antisocial hours overtime and long distance travel requirements.
They need to be very clear about these things with young people seeking uni applications advice.
Along with all potential students who mention any ambitions that involves working as a nurse, doctor, physicians associate, care support worker or paramedic.

Reply 2

StriderHort

21

Sadly I suspect these are just the realities of careers. Past a point you'll simply get asked if you're willing to do it or not :/

Reply 3

Tracey_W

17

Original post by Awaitingquavers

I have just read on a university website for nursing that students can be expected to travel up to 2 hours away for their placements. Not only this but the university will ‘aim to not exceed this however this might be unavoidable due to placement numbers.

That is ridiculous. Four hours travelling everyday (that will likely be without traffic) when students are already exhausted from learning new skills all day. Where’s the work life balance?

I think that if placements are more than 1.5 hours away then hours should be reduced or a max of 3 days should be worked. The fact that placements are a means to an end and the students are being assessed is just a way to take advantage.

I thought I had it hard with my 2 hour commute one day per week.

Just part and parcel of being a student nurse.
Majority of placements are generally within a 90 minutes range of where you live but not all placements can be provided within this time range so therefore have to sometimes travel slightly further than you want to.
I wouldn't think it will take two hours there and back because they would be traveling long before Rush hour traffic starts at each end of the day. Probably get caught up in it doing Nightshift.

Each hospital will be given a certain amount of allocations of students nursing staff and the university and the hospital trusts will do their best to accommodate people within the trust area and if necessary send some students to another trust area.

I had two placements that was almost two hours there and back to where I was living and there was nothing I could do about it because that's where the maternity hospitals were based outside of the main one in the city.
I choose to find local b&b for one of the placement for the amount of days I was doing it and I was able to claim back xx amount of money per day I was living away from home towards the cost of the b&b.
The other placement I hired a car because it was actually easy to get to compared to the bus route ( no expense back as I choose to do that). I would have got back the extra costs for bus fares as would have been over the daily amount included in the bursary.

Dispite this unnecessary traveling time I was able still to have a social life as you make use of your four days off that most student nursing staff gets due to the long hours that they do.

They only work 3 days aweek if working on hospital ward's

But if in community or outpatient department then you'll probably work Monday to Friday with a day off during the week and free weekends.

Reply 4

paub

11

i was lucky project 2000. all based in one hospital group i could walk to the 3 hospitals.. the wife studied in mmu and trained in bury. with 2 outliers at a brain injury unit in south Manchester and a cancer one at Withington. if you have family commitment make sue they know.getting from east lancashire to mmu could take that long.get friendly with the office staff and tutors it can help

Original post by Awaitingquavers

I have just read on a university website for nursing that students can be expected to travel up to 2 hours away for their placements. Not only this but the university will ‘aim to not exceed this however this might be unavoidable due to placement numbers.

That is ridiculous. Four hours travelling everyday (that will likely be without traffic) when students are already exhausted from learning new skills all day. Where’s the work life balance?

I think that if placements are more than 1.5 hours away then hours should be reduced or a max of 3 days should be worked. The fact that placements are a means to an end and the students are being assessed is just a way to take advantage.

I thought I had it hard with my 2 hour commute one day per week.

Hi there,
Current student nurse here!

Unfortunately, it's very common for a 1.5-2hr commute each way to be given as a maximum amount of time travelling, however in my experience, this is only as a last resort. Most of my placements have required 1hr of travel each way, but that's because I have to rely on public transport.
The reason for this is, some universities cater to a large geographical area, and therefore need to send their students afar, or have to contend with other universities in the vicinity, therefore making places quite competitive. Typically, placements are accommodating of this, and will sometimes allow you to leave slightly early, and depending on which placement you are sent to, you would be expected to work 3 long days over any day of the week, or a 9-5 Mon-Fri shift pattern, this is so you can complete the NMC required hours of 2300hrs by the end of the degree, and sadly, that is across the board for all nursing degrees.

I can completely understand your frustration, and it can be difficult to maintain a work/life balance, so time management is imperative. I know it's not ideal, but for three years, it's a small price to pay for the long-term goal.

It's definitely something to think about, and I've been doing this for 2 years now, and find it's not as bad as I first imagined

- Nat

Hey,

As everyone else has mentioned above travelling 2 hours away for placement is very rare. Majority of universities it is up to 90 minutes however, this is the worse case scenario. It can be difficult travelling far for placements while being a student nurse however, there is support in place to help.

Travel and accommodation support for healthcare students is to be raised by 50%. Students will be able to claim more money for any trips taken as part of their training, such as clinical placements in hospitals. For example, a student who travels 1,000 miles by car or motorcycle during their placement will now receive £420 compared to £280 under the previous rates. Please see this link for more information: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/healthcare-studies-more-affordable-as-financial-support-increased#:~:text=Today's%20increase%20comes%20on%20top,as%20radiography%20or%20mental%20health

Receiving financial support can definitely help with placements.

I hope this helps :burnout:

Reply 7

paub

11

Original post by CCCU Health Rep

Hey,

As everyone else has mentioned above travelling 2 hours away for placement is very rare. Majority of universities it is up to 90 minutes however, this is the worse case scenario. It can be difficult travelling far for placements while being a student nurse however, there is support in place to help.

Travel and accommodation support for healthcare students is to be raised by 50%. Students will be able to claim more money for any trips taken as part of their training, such as clinical placements in hospitals. For example, a student who travels 1,000 miles by car or motorcycle during their placement will now receive £420 compared to £280 under the previous rates. Please see this link for more information: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/healthcare-studies-more-affordable-as-financial-support-increased#:~:text=Today's%20increase%20comes%20on%20top,as%20radiography%20or%20mental%20health

Receiving financial support can definitely help with placements.

I hope this helps :burnout:

thats just england. im not sure about scotland. does the rule about travel expenses still apply that its only given if your travel is further than your trip to uni.

Reply 8

Tracey_W

17

Original post by paub

thats just england. im not sure about scotland. does the rule about travel expenses still apply that its only given if your travel is further than your trip to uni.

As far as I am aware students can still apply for any extra expenses for travelling costs out with what they are given within there bursary allowance each year. ( £5 per daily placement allowance is in the bursary and anything that you pay over the allowance you can claim it back at the end of your placement with filling in the necessary paperwork from SAAS website. ) If you use your car instead for planning purposes then you can claim any additional milage over what you normally use. Same applies for living accommodation if you are unable to travel back to where you stay at the end of your shift then you can claim up to £30

(. What we will pay - SAAS for student nursing staff). From the SAAS website

Travel.
We can only pay mileage claims for travel by car in the following exceptional circumstances:

There is no public transport available to get you to and from your placement.
You are on a community placement and following agreement from your university, you use your car for patient visits.
You are claiming a small amount of mileage to reach nearby public transport.

The mileage costs will be capped at £30 per day (£35 daily travel minus £5 daily deduction). Your University will deduct £5 per day from this on your behalf.

If you expect your travel costs to be more than £30 each day, you should, if possible, stay in local accommodation nearer your placement.
When claiming for patient visits, you must give us details of your community visit route in the ‘journey, provider and ticket type’ section of the form. For example, if your route is in rural areas, you should tell us the villages/towns you visit or if in city areas, you should include post codes. Please note the daily £5 deduction does not apply in this instance.
If you wish to use private transport for your own convenience, you can, but you can only claim the cost of travel by public transport.
When using public transport, you must buy the cheapest ticket available for the type of transport you use, for example, student tickets and weekly/monthly passes. If you claim more than the costs of these tickets, we will restrict your claim to the cheapest ticket available to you. We only need to see receipts for flight and ferry travel costs. However, you should keep all your travel receipts in case we disagree with the costs you are claiming.
Accommodation
You can claim for the cost of accommodation if you have to live away from your home or term-time address while on placement. You must only claim the cheapest accommodation available to you. If you pay to stay with family and friends, we will pay you up to a maximum of £15 each night. In all cases, you must send us receipts for your accommodation.