London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 08, 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

0:00
0:00
Close
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
OpenAI Launches GPT‑5, Its Most Advanced AI Model Yet
Embarrassment in Britain: Homelessness Minister Evicted Tenants and Forced to Resign
President Trump nominated Stephen Miran, his top economic adviser and a critic of the Federal Reserve, to temporarily fill an open Fed seat
The AI-Powered Education Revolution: Market Potential and Transformative Impact
Chikungunya Virus Outbreak in Southern China: Over 7,000 Hospitalized
French wine makers have seen catastrophic damage to vines that were almost ready to be harvested after the worst fires in more than 70 years burned through the south of the country
US Lawmaker Probes Intel CEO’s China Ties Amid National Security Concerns
Brazilian President Lula says he’ll contact the leaders of BRICS states to propose a unified response to U.S. tariffs
Trump Open to Meeting Putin as Soon as Next Week, with Possible Trilateral Summit Including Zelenskiy
Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau spark dating rumors, joining high stakes world of celeb-politician romances
US envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow to seek a breakthrough in the Ukraine war ahead of President Trump’s peace deadline
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Karol Nawrocki Inaugurated as Poland’s President, Setting Stage for Clash with Tusk Government
Trump Signals JD Vance as ‘Most Likely’ MAGA Successor for 2028
US Charges Two Chinese Nationals for Illegal Nvidia AI Chip Exports
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
U.S. Tariff Policy Triggers Market Volatility Amid Growing Global Trade Tensions
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
Representative Greene Urges H-1B Visa Cuts Amid U.S.-India Trade Tensions
U.S. House Committee Subpoenas Clintons and Senior Officials in Epstein Investigation
Sydney Sweeney Registered as Republican as Controversial American Eagle Ad Sparks Debate
Trump Accuses Major Banks of Politically Motivated Account Denials and Prepares Executive Order
TikTok Removes Huda Kattan Video Over Anti-Israel Conspiracy Claims
Trump Threatens Tariffs on India Over Russian Oil Imports
German Finance Minister Criticizes Trump’s Attacks on Institutions
U.S. Proposes Visa Bond of Up to $15,000 for Some Applicants
U.S. Farmers Increase Lobbying Amid Immigration Crackdown
Elon Musk Receives $23.7 Billion Tesla Stock Award
Texas House Paralyzed After Democrats Walk Out Over Redistricting
Mexican Cartels Complicate Sheinbaum’s U.S. Security Talks
Mark Zuckerberg Declares War on the iPhone
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
Tesla Seeks Shareholder Approval for $29 Billion Compensation Package for Elon Musk
Nvidia is cutting prices on its RTX 50-series graphics cards after sales slowed and inventories piled up
Ghislaine Maxwell Transferred to Minimum-Security Prison Amid Ongoing DOJ Discussions
U.S. Tariffs Surge to Highest Levels in Nearly a Century Under Second Trump Term
Matt Taibbi Slams Media for Role in Russiagate Narrative
Pilots Call for Mental Health Support Without Stigma
All Five Trapped Miners Found Dead After El Teniente Mine Collapse
Ong Beng Seng Pleads Guilty in Corruption Case Linked to Former Singapore Transport Minister
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
Italy Fines Shein One Million Euros for Misleading Sustainability Claims
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
Declassified Annex Links Soros‑Affiliated Officials and Clinton Campaign to ‘Russiagate’ Narrative
×