TSR DECISIONS DROP IN Q and A NOW OPEN - GET FREE ADVICE HERE >>

RCN subscription for student nurse- Worth it ?

Hey

i got a letter today from UCAS with a leaflet from the RCN about student nurses subscription, due to the offer at the moment it would work out at £20 for the three years ill be training. Whilst i have no objections paying, i wondered peoples opinion on whether it will actually be worth it for the first year as pretty much all our work on the wards will be supervised anyway.

any advice would be greatly appreciated,
cheers,
hula129 :smile:

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1

Chiko 1001

Student medics get a similar thing through UCAS for BMA membership. Apparently most people do join up, so I imagine it's much the same with nursing.

Reply 2

Annie72

I think it would be very wise to join the RCN as you never know when you might need their support or advice. :smile:

. Joining also means you are able to access the online library which could be useful when it comes to assignments or reading around a subject.

Reply 3

Hula129

Annie72

I think it would be very wise to join the RCN as you never know when you might need their support or advice. :smile:

. Joining also means you are able to access the online library which could be useful when it comes to assignments or reading around a subject.

ooo good point :smile:

thanks

Reply 4

Cup of Inspiration

Join! I'm a member and have used it loads this past year with issues on placement, and as a healthcare assistant, really good advice! Plus you get a discount off the nursing standard, a dictionary and a little badge to pop on your uniform hehe!

Definately join atleast one union during your training, we got to choose from unison and the RCN, and usually they will both do a talk at the start of your year- wait until you've heard their talks of what they can do for you, till deciding?

Reply 5

Hula129

Cup of Inspiration

Join! I'm a member and have used it loads this past year with issues on placement, and as a healthcare assistant, really good advice! Plus you get a discount off the nursing standard, a dictionary and a little badge to pop on your uniform hehe!

definitely join atleast one union during your training, we got to choose from unison and the RCN, and usually they will both do a talk at the start of your year- wait until you've heard their talks of what they can do for you, till deciding?

ahhh cool, thanks :smile:

it just confused me abit because i thought you only joined once you qualified :p:

Reply 6

Cup of Inspiration

Hula129

ahhh cool, thanks :smile:

it just confused me abit because i thought you only joined once you qualified :p:

nah they have a call for students too, plus you can have the opportunity to become a RCN rep for your university or an ANS comittee member- I almost stood for the ANS committee myself, but decided I had too much going on really

Reply 7

marcevans

Hello. This is definatly a post for me. I am a student information officer for the Royal College Of Nursing as well as a second year Nursing student. I would really recomend you joining the RCN as a Nursing student as it does provide massive benefits. There are ten main points to why you should consider joining the RCN. As I have said above the online library is a fantastic resource for online books and journals which can be accessed whenever you need them. Your library probably wont be open 24 hours so this is great if you need to finish an essay and need resources to do so. The RCN also gives its members a choice and a voice, there is a lot of lobbying and campaigning as well as the organisation working alongside the Government to help push out policies nationwide. You can always guarantee to have you voice heard as a member. The RCN can also help you to plan for your future Nursing career. There is an online resource that helps you think about writing CVs, reflecting on practice and to think about what certificates outside of University such as first aid courses can help you push forward. There has been talk in the media recently about clinical insurance for Nurses and Students, the RCN will have you covered! Members are eligible for upto £3million worth of indemnity insurance whilst out in practice and you get exactly the same cover as a registered Nurse. The networking within the RCN is amazing. As I said in previous posts the use of the online forums enable you to share knowledge and learn new ideas from experienced nurses, newly qualified Nurses and even current students. The RCN also organises many conferences and events during the year enabling members to continue their professional development. The main event is the RCN Congress and annual meeting of RCN members from around the country where new ideas are shared and topics discussed. There should also be more student conferences, these are brilliant as you learn so much that relates directly to students. This years student conferences looked at dignity, importance of fluid input and the needs of those with learning disabilities. Student members of the RCN automatically become members of the Association of Nursing Students, The ANS represents the views of students and also produces a quarterly magazine that relates to our training. On top of what I have said about the online books and journals the RCN also produces its own publications which are very informative and helpful, not only to promote knowledge for practice but they can be used in essays as well. As members, you would also be entitled to a range of discounts on stuff like car insurance, travel insurance, discounts off books and also mobile phone deals. As expected the RCN also acts as a support for students, there are a range of support services available if you need advice on something. At a ground level, as as student information officer I would be able to help with advice and support and maybe pass you on to counsellors or other support staff within the RCN and all of this for only £10.00 per year!! I hope this helps you decide to join the RCN, Even though I usually only represent nursing students at UWE feel free to send me a PM on here and I will provide my email address, I am usually avaliable 24/7 and will respond to any email within 24 hours from the time you press the send button. Hope to hear from you soon.

http://www.rcn.org.uk/development/students/join_the_rcn

Reply 8

InArduisFouette

unless you really really want to join Unison, Join the RCN - which if nothing else puts nursing first rather than Nursing being yet another sectionof the union.

as Marc says the access to services and resources is a really big plus point as is the professional indemnity insurance

i have to say that as a practising Registered nurse and RCN member the support i have recieved from the RCN with problems has been fabulous in all but one incident when the help i recieved still counted as good to very good.

Reply 9

marcevans

Unison is not nursing directed it applies to all public sectors. With the RCN it is nursing directed, it acts as a union but also puts your nursing career in mind with further nursing education being a major part of conferences and events run by them.

Reply 10

smilee172

I joined it just in case, never needed it but it's worth it in case anything happens and you ever need any support.

Reply 11

InArduisFouette

once again little miss 'my mother, whose a nurse' strikes again.

the RCN is very very good at supporting it's members whether student, associate or full ...

Reply 12

marcevans

sorry jinglepupskye, didnt think when I posted it. and is this going to end up being a fight of unions? The RCN will stand up for you in employment issues.

Reply 13

InArduisFouette

marcevans

sorry jinglepupskye, didnt think when I posted it. and is this going to end up being a fight of unions? The RCN will stand up for you in employment issues.

jinglepupskye just likes arguing with nurses on the basis of her mother's opinions ....

never mind the opinions of currently practising RNs ...

Reply 14

Subcutaneous

jinglepupskye

The one area that Unison is far superior to RCN, is that in the event of a employment issue problem during your course, Unison will bend over backwards to help you.

Because they are a Trade Union their main concern is you as a member of the union. You will never get RCN to stand with you against the university or a placement. The professional organisations are too wrapped in conferences and events to actually care about helping a student with problems.

Join RCN if you want to, but make sure that you are with Unison as well because if you encounter problems then you will get far more help from Unison than you ever would from RCN.

I usually do stick up for you but I disagree, the rcn has stood with me agains the university, AND the trust- conferences and events- er to give information TOO students

Unison AFAIC do not care for me as a student nurse, but just as a potential full paying employee, im a member of both unions, and have had FAR better support from the RCN

Reply 15

Subcutaneous

jinglepupskye

Okay I'll give an example - student nurse is discovered to have minor health problem. They are receiving no treatment from anywhere but ward sister decides that she will not complete said student's placement record as she is 'unable to assess student' on the basis of health problem.

Student goes to RCN rep and is given the brush-off. End result - student gets bumped off course.

Student is still determined to be a nurse - applies elsewhere, gets on course, school of nursing find out about first course and try to bump student off course again.

This time student goes to Unison, who arrange a simple medical check and find no reason why the student should not practise. Student goes to appeal with the backing of Unison and is allowed to complete the course, and is now working.

Clearly for this student RCN were of no help. And I should also point out that I never said don't join RCN, I said to join Unison as well.

but that wouldn't happen in reality as occupational health and the NMC decide fitness to pratice..not unison...or the RCN. When i was recieving discrimination from my mentor a few months actually- actually regarding a health issue, the RCN were fantastic- could not praise them enough

Reply 16

Subcutaneous

jinglepupskye

Sub you are either calling me a liar or you don't understand. I can name names, trusts, hospitals, union reps etc...

Im not calling you a liar, im just questioning it, as like i said-the RCN have been fantastic, and for student nurses- they are number one, maybe it was a bad representitive or trust? But AS a student nurse, who has used them twice- I would always turn to them when in need of advice, and certainly wont renew my unison membership

Reply 17

marcevans

Well maybe that is just one incident jinglepupskye, it doesnt mean other representatives are like that. As a student rep for the RCN, I care about getting my colleagues the relevant support that they need during their training.

Reply 18

dani_88

We had talks from both Unison and RCN today and i joined RCN personally. :woo:

(I didn't actually have anything constructive to add to this conversation mind :p:

)

If i encounter any problems i shall report back and let you know whether i found them useful!

Reply 19

vickie89

i subscribed to it about 6 months ago (i go to uni in september to do childrens nursing so subscribed to the childrens version of the magazine). while some of it isnt useful to me at the moment i imagine that from what i have read in the magazine it will be very useful when i start my training. it also gives you access to the rcn past articles library and have found some very interesting articles on there and you can also print off certain resources that may help you (like patient informaion cards) so i think it is very useful to subscribe to it as you never know when you may need extra help with an assignment that may be available on the website or in the magazine.