Beautiful Virgin Islands

Wednesday, Sep 17, 2025

'I'm very nervous': UK  student nurses on the frontline against Covid-19

'I'm very nervous': UK student nurses on the frontline against Covid-19

Student nurses on starting their working lives amid the coronavirus outbreak

Health secretary Matt Hancock has announced that up to 18,700 final year student nurses “will move to the frontline” to aid health service staff during the Covid-19 crisis. We spoke to some of them about starting their careers during a pandemic.

‘You have to be positive, or you’ll lose your head’
Michelle Magadada, 22, is a third year nursing student at the University of Huddersfield. 

My placement has been moved forward from to June to April because of coronavirus. I’m very nervous, but excited. It’ll be a learning experience for everyone, not just student nurses. None of us has dealt with a pandemic.

Do I feel prepared? No, in that I don’t really know what to expect. Yes, in that I’ve dealt with situations in hospitals where we’ve had to be on high alert for deteriorating patients. We’re putting our health at risk, but this is what we do every day as nurses; we come into contact with so many infections. I feel like we can tackle this by following the routines we’ve been taught.

I live with another student nurse who’s more ready than I am, to be honest. He’s excited for a longer placement, and this time we’re actually being paid. My year missed out on bursaries, so it’s been difficult financially. For two years I had a part-time job as a healthcare assistant with an agency, picking up shifts when I didn’t have so many uni assignments. It was nearly impossible to manage. If it weren’t for my parents, I would have struggled.

It’s nice to be part of something so huge. I understand that there are many students who are scared to take on this responsibility, but I feel like it’s a good thing that they’ve called on us. You have to be positive, or you’ll lose your head.


‘I don’t really have a choice but to go in’

Rebecca Lennox, 29, is a first year nursing student at John Moores University.

I’m starting my work placement at a post-surgery ward soon. I’m worried because I’ve got two young children and a husband with bad asthma. Although I won’t be working directly with patients who are positive with the virus, I’ll be travelling and working in that hospital. The patients are already at risk so I think, what if I touch something in a lift or on the bus on to work and pass it to one of the patients?

We have to do 2,300 theory hours and 2,300 clinical hours before we can register to become a nurse. The university says we have the choice not to go on placement now, but where am I going to make those hours up? I’m classed as a mature student, so it can feel like I’m on borrowed time. My dad has dementia and I worry about whether he’ll get to see me graduate.

I’m a course representative at my university, so I hear a lot of concerns from other students. We feel like we’re in limbo. The university is trying to give assurances as to what’s going on with our hours and so on, but they just don’t know everything.

I feel ready for the work. As student nurses, we go with the flow anyway because the health service is already so understaffed. Although we’re not meant to be counted in the numbers, we pretty much are all the time.


‘The government takes advantage of nurses’ good nature’

Joseph Brooks, 27, is a third year nursing student at the University of Northampton.

I’ll be going on placement in the next couple of weeks. The situation is obviously not great, but with the new rules allowing us to graduate early we’re clamouring to get out there and work.

I’m most worried about passing the virus on to the patients. Since we’re students, we need to be supervised – but I have no idea how it’s going to work if supervisors end up contracting the virus and have to self-isolate. I imagine we’ll hear something closer to the time; we’re getting updates every couple of days.

I’ve heard that we will be paid while on placement during coronavirus. There’s also going to be a new grant for student nurses, but that doesn’t arrive until September. But while the grant is coming in now is welcome, it’s lower than it was, and tuition fees are still over £9,000 a year. Luckily for me, my employer (St Andrew’s Healthcare) is giving me a stipend of about £16,000 to go to university.

It’s not as if the government wasn’t warned back in 2017 that they’d see a massive drop in nurses when they scrapped the bursary for student nurses – and that’s what happened. The thing with nurses is that they’re incredible people, but it seems to me that the government takes advantage of their good nature. In order to be come a nurse, you have to saddle yourself with debt. I don’t blame people who are put off by that – especially if they’re from low income backgrounds. More needs to be done.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
The German Owner of Politico Mathias Döpfner Eyes Further U.S. Media Expansion After Axel Springer Restructuring
Suspect Arrested: Utah Man in Custody for Charlie Kirk’s Fatal Shooting
In a politically motivated trial: Bolsonaro Sentenced to 27 Years for Plotting Coup After 2022 Defeat
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
×