'The time that students offer to patients can be invaluable'

In this time of stretched resources and staff cuts, student nurses can provide an extra element of care for patients.

I was watching a student nurse recently carrying out mouth care and her inexperience and nervousness about this new skill meant that she carried out the task carefully and slowly.

The patient was obviously enjoying the attention and slower pace of the care. The student nurse grew in confidence and had made a good relationship by the end of the procedure.

Student nurses are a valuable resource and often have a little bit more time to offer patients which they will value. And although they move around they become recognised members of the hospital staff.

My mother recently went back into hospital and greeted a student nurse that she had met on another ward a few months earlier like an old friend.

Student nurses are invaluable members of the team who although inexperienced can offer time and a different dimension of care.

We celebrated the importance of student nurses in our first Student Nursing Times Awards – an event that  was so uplifting and reassuring about the future of nursing that we are already planning next year’s event.