MUMN calls out University for ‘abuse of nursing students’

A decision by the University of Malta to ignore any clinical placement hours logged by nursing students in June, and therefore not paying for them, was tantamount to a precarious attitude and abuse of the nursing, the Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses said this morning.

The union it was very disappointed with how nursing students were being treated by the university.

First- and second-year nursing students who as part of their studies are currently conducting clinical placements received an email stating any placement hours carried out throughout the month of June will not be taken into account regarding payment.

“This issue is unsettling for these students as a substantial amount of placement hours had already been carried out throughout the month of June, as part of the normal completion of their studies,” the MUMN said in a statement.

“These students that are affected by this decision include both nursing students that are studying to obtain their Higher Diploma in Nursing Studies and a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Nursing.”

The union said that the students were only informed on the last day of their placement period and were therefore left in a state of panic.

“It is important to note that for the past years, these hours were paid for by the Department of Health in full for both months mentioned, and for both courses,” it said.

The MUMN said that these problems could have quite serious repercussions, at a time when the future of the nursing courses should be considered a priority.

The government, together with the University of Malta and MUMN has been trying to increase the number of people choosing the nursing courses by offering incentives to prospective students, such as a higher monthly stipend.

“This situation, if allowed to continue, will act as a heavy disincentive to any students considering following any of the aforementioned courses,” the MUMN said.

The union said it would do anything required to ensure the nursing students get what they deserved.

“This is a form of precarious attitude and abuse on the nursing students,” it said. 

MUMN appealed to the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health to defend these students and come up with a sensible solution for these students to get paid for what they worked for as occurred in the previous years.

“We are all striving to attract more youths to the nursing profession and these decisions would surely not help through our campaign,” it said.