Course-related family and financial problems of mature nursing students

In recent years there has been a significant change in the type of student entering nurse education. There has been a move towards widening access, and as a result, more mature students have gained entry to courses. What seems less clear is the types of course-related problems experienced by mature students. The study reported in this paper investigated the financial and family problems that mature students experience as a direct result of undertaking a course in nursing education. It was found that most mature students experience financial, childcare, relationship and family problems. It was also found that a large number of mature students thought about leaving the course as a result of these problems. It may be necessary, in the light of the findings, to consider how future course designs can accommodate mature students and their particular experiences.