My name is Meadhbh (or Bert hehe) and I am a final year student nurse. I’ve worked as a health care assistant since the beginning of the pandemic on an oncology ward. I ADORE the work and earn €14 an hour. Student nurses and midwives in other years are currently on placement and
are at risk of getting Covid. They are working for free. Imagine, we have students helping to STAFF wards filled with people with an infectious and deadly disease and we’re supposed to believe that these students should be grateful for the experience???
The HSE couldn’t have coped during the pandemic if students like myself and my wonderful classmates didn’t step up to the mark and work as health care assistants in a range of facilities including acute hospitals and community and providing direct care in people’s homes.
I don’t know any other internship that expects as much from a student than nursing or midwifery. We quite literally are responsible for human lives. I don’t know of any other internship that would expect you to work 12 hour days for free while putting yourself and family @ risk.
I thankfully have no unpaid placement left until I start my internship. However, I will be earning approximately €9/€10 for double the responsibility and workload as I currently have as a healthcare assistant. I am worth the same wage as a healthcare assistant. Students in
other years are worth being paid a fair wage when providing care in a dangerous and unpredictable environment. We are worth it. Please listen to us and please share. @DonnellyStephen @SimonHarrisTD @INMO_IRL @RoisinShortall @gavreilly @newschambers @AodhanORiordain @LeoVaradkar
@MaryLouMcDonald @ZaraKing @EOBroin @CathMurphyTD @HollyCairnsTD @PearseDoherty @pb4p @PTHosford @WhitmoreJen @SocDems @TDworldcup @lukeming @loreillysf @FionnualaJay @1GaryGannon @CMOIreland @saoirse_mchugh @SindyLJoyce @Ginosocialist @paulmurphy_TD @RuthCoppingerSP
Some extra points because I wrote that after a shift yesterday:
We pay FULL fees to experience this.
A huge amount of our class are mature students with children depending on them.
Please email your TDs and tell them that this isn’t good enough.
We pay FULL fees to experience this.
A huge amount of our class are mature students with children depending on them.
Please email your TDs and tell them that this isn’t good enough.
@hazechu @MichealMartinTD @rodericogorman @Costellop @cathmartingreen @DMitchellTD @alankellylabour @neasa_neasa @padraigosull @paulreiddublin @SarahAMcInerney @CMOIreland @ronan_glynn @RBoydBarrett @RichardbrutonTD @CiaranCuffe @EamonRyan @SenLynnRuane @aliceeire