‘It’s important to remember what inspired you to become a nurse’

I am not just gently blowing on my little horn of empathy, I see them in class juggling with different deadlines, and I see them on clinical placements ensuring they meet the required proficiencies.

If you are reading this, please know, we see you, we see what you do and we don’t doubt your endeavours. The reason you may be finding things a bit difficult is because they are. You see, environment always trumps will and despite your efforts and motivations, the current circumstances aren’t to be ignored.

Well, there are a few things; the cost-of-living crisis, the challenges facing our NHS, removal of the student nurse bursary – I could go on. And due to all this, we are now left with students with the paradox of having to work to study. Although this isn’t new, neither is it news. What is different is the number of students trying to hold down full-time jobs while studying to make ends meet given inflation. This may result in missing classes.

If a student has to not be a student just so that they can afford to be a student, something is fundamentally broken there.

Go with me on this because I’ve thought it through. You see, if one needs money to survive, one will have to work, and unless one is in a job that works only nightshifts, they are going to either miss class or come in to class tired.

"In times like these, it’s important to remember why you wanted to be a nurse, what inspired you to become a nurse"

To some students, this has felt like the focus of the course is no longer to learn new ideas that inspire and innovate, but to complete the assignments and get good grades.

The crux of the matter is since nursing bursaries were removed, some students have to make business decisions, which makes total sense since they pay a lot of money for the course. This perhaps changed the student-teacher relationship, and their expectations shifted a bit, to ‘paying customers'.

That aside, due to the juggling of studying and working longer hours, there is a real risk of burnout, which is detrimental to their health.

What we can all agree on is that training to become a nurse is hard, and yes that is perhaps the reason why you are finding it hard, but believe me it was worth it, nursing has given me a lot, so please do hold on.

If you were thinking of giving up, here are some tips you may find helpful.

In times like these, it’s important to remember why you wanted to be a nurse, what inspired you to become a nurse – remember your why!

Can you, do it? Remember, you were interviewed and selected, you proved to the panel of experts that you can do it, not everyone who applied got offered a place. There is the evidence that you can do it!

Studying in a crisis is no walk in the park – you are there to make a difference, so be proud you are doing the best you can.

Be patient with yourself, take it as a learning curve and use it to build resilience – remember it will end, and eventually things will improve.

Take the good with the bad and focus on the positives – cry and let your frustrations out, but always make time to reflect for yourself.

Remember to access all the support available to you – universities have a lot of free academic, welfare and mental health support

Prioritise self-care, you need to recharge – you can't pour from an empty cup.

Cope with failure and learn from mistakes – who has never failed?

Take time to still be you, you have varied interests, don’t drop them for becoming a nurse, become more than a nurse.

Don’t tie your self-worth to your grades, separate the two, they don’t define you. If you fail, so what? speak to your lecturer, regroup, and have another go.

Find a good friend, one you can share life’s frustrations with and vice versa.

If things get difficult, take some time away and return.

If you really have to, you can even change the course after all what’s the point of having a mind if you can’t change it?

A clever person once said “Success is always a process, never an event. Failure is always an event, never a person”

There is a lot of support available:

• Student Space is led by Student Minds, the UK’s student mental health charity. Find support services provided by your university in England and Wales;
• Hub of Hope, the UK’s leading mental health support database, is provided by national mental health charity Chasing the Stigma. Enter a postcode to find your nearest support.

Ronalds Busulwa is a mental health lecturer and Practitioner at Teesside University. He is the founder of the Black Students Mental Health Blog