Paid part-time employment and academic performance of undergraduate nursing students

Nursing students are increasingly undertaking paid term-time employment to finance their living expenses and studies. However the type and duration of this part-time work is unknown; furthermore there is a limited evidence on the extent to which this part-time employment is impacting on academic performance and the student's experience of higher education. To address this shortfall this study undertook a cross-sectional survey of undergraduate nursing students to explore the incidence of student involvement in term-time employment and to develop an understanding of the relationship of employment on student's academic and clinical achievement, and on their experience of higher education. The results found that the vast majority of the sample were working in part-time employment during term-time. The average number of hours worked per week was sixteen. The number of hours worked per week was found to be a predictor of course performance, the student's experience of college and grades achieved. Students who worked greater hours reported negative outcomes in each of these three domains. The findings also support the contention that it is not working per se that has a detrimental effect on student outcomes but the numbers of hours' students are actually working while attending college. Therefore policy makers, educationalists and health service providers need to be aware of the burden that nursing students may have to contend with in combining work with their academic studies.