Student protests expand to universities

Since September 21, high school students and university students across France have been mobilizing to protest the worsening conditions of their education. Overcrowded classrooms, a shortage of teachers and staff, and outdated infrastructure are among the key complaints, with the movement now spreading to universities as well.

Nursing students face pay disparities

The National Federation of Nursing Students (FNESI) is supporting the broader student protests, highlighting the unique challenges faced by nursing students. They point out that nursing students receive between 1.03 € and 1.75 € per hour during their internships, a rate unchanged since 2020 despite a 20% rise in inflation over that time.

Internship pay lags behind other students

This compensation is significantly lower than the 4.50 € per hour received by other higher education and research students. The FNESI argues that this gap contributes to the financial instability of future nurses, especially when considering additional costs like travel and fuel to reach internship locations.

Some nursing tracks get no pay

The federation also notes that students in specialized nursing tracks, such as advanced practice nurses, operating room nurses, anesthesiology nurses, and pediatric nurses, receive no compensation for their internships. This lack of financial support weakens these students, even though their future roles are critical to addressing public health challenges.

Shortage of nursing researchers

Beyond financial issues, the FNESI emphasizes the difficulty in advancing teaching and research in nursing sciences. It cites a limited number of teaching researchers in France, which hinders the development of scientific knowledge specific to the field and the integration of nursing studies into higher education.

Calls for more teaching researchers

To address this, the federation is demanding the funding of at least two teaching researcher positions in nursing sciences at health universities. The goal is to strengthen the discipline's place in higher education and ensure that training is more closely tied to research.

Support for internship supervisors

The FNESI is also requesting a financial compensation of 300 € for internship supervisors, who play a vital role in the education of future nurses. The federation argues that these supervisors require more recognition and investment, and the proposed payment would help improve the quality of supervision.

Aiming to influence higher education funding

By joining the broader student movement, the FNESI hopes to bring nursing studies back into the public eye, especially regarding the funding of higher education. Whether these demands will be heard by public authorities remains to be seen.