Your student’s supernumerary status

You can see that, in order to meet all the requirements set down by the Nursing and Midwifery Council, your student needs to have the flexibility to capitalise on learning opportunities as and when they arise in practice. This is why it is essential to ensure that your student’s supernumerary status is protected during their practice hours. During the early part of the programme, you, your student and the rest of the team are all adjusting to your student’s ongoing transition between learning as a student nurse and practising as a health care worker.

So, protecting students’ supernumerary status will:

• Ensure they are not included in workforce numbers
• Allow them to carry out educational activities in practice environments when they are present as students
• Ensure they are available to access educational opportunities in other settings
• Free them to experience service users follow-throughs and/or care pathways

Next Section: Mandatory training