At one point in everyone's life you will be helped by a nurse. Lifelong care from birth to death is provided by nurses, so whether you receive this care as a baby, adult or even in your old age, you are comfortable in the knowledge that nurses will always be there to help.
So why has it been made so difficult for people to actually become these vital caregivers?
A requirement for students to become qualified nurses in the UK is to complete 2,300 hours worth of experience during their degrees. This experience is gained on placements on hospital wards, working alongside qualified nurses.
During a single placement, students work the same amount as a full-time nurse, but there is one catch - it is completely unpaid.
Full-time unpaid work and full-time studies are often completed alongside one another, as lectures, assessments and deadlines are still a huge demand on all nursing courses.
Across the UK all university students can receive a maintenance loan, which helps with the general costs of university living. In addition to this, students on healthcare courses receive an NHS Bursary of £5,000 every academic year.
But for all the hidden costs involved in student nursing, is this enough to live?
Bills, rent and food are just some of the obvious financial strains for students. However, meal prepping, transport to placements and hospital car parking fees are also part of the daily expenses for student nurses.
The reality of these extra costs and long unpaid shifts potentially deter people from going into nursing careers.
NHS England has recently launched a recruitment drive as nursing vacancies across England have reached 46,828. The new campaign 'We are NHS' aims to highlight the importance of NHS nurses and also features stories from patients that have received outstanding care. They also found that 94% of all nursing graduates find jobs within six months.
However, the NHS Staff Survey 2021, found that 34% of midwives and nurses often think about quitting their current jobs and only 28% are happy with their wage level.
Additionally, the survey found that 53% of nurses and midwives felt unwell due to work-related stress.
Patricia Marquis, the Royal College of Nursing’s director for England, also believes that the new NHS campaign is "futile until nursing staff are paid a fair salary”.
Pippa Checkley, 20, is studying child nursing and has already completed several placements as part of her course. She admits that she "didn't know what she was getting herself into" when beginning her course.
"I don't have a life at the moment. I'm mid-way through an eight-week placement and all I've been doing 12-hour long night shifts, so when I get home all I do is just sleep until my next shift in the evening."
Despite working these long hours, Pippa is earning nothing.
"I'm doing the same amount of work, the only difference is that I'm completely unpaid."
The unpaid aspect of student nurses is something that remains a massive issue, even more so as the cost of living increases.
So maybe it is our turn to care for our nurses.
To find out more about Pippa's experience of being a student nurse, you can listen below for the full story.
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