One in Three Nursing Students "Considered Dropping Out Over the Burden of Long-Distance Placements"

Assemblywoman Kang Kyungsuk and the Korean Nurses Association survey more than 2,100 nursing students
97% experienced long-distance clinical placements; 71% felt threatened or anxious about their safety
Average additional cost: 1.5 million won; just

One in three nursing students has considered taking a leave of absence or dropping out because of the financial burden of traveling long distances for clinical practice, a survey has found. Students who have to relocate or travel long distances for their placements face not only financial strain but also safety concerns, prompting calls for government support measures.

According to a survey of 2,156 third- and fourth-year nursing students nationwide, conducted by the office of Rep. Kang Kyungsuk of the Rebuilding Korea Party, a member of the National Assembly Education Committee, and the Korean Nurses Association, 96.9% of respondents said they had experience with clinical placements far from home.

Clinical placements far from home refer to placements where the distance between a student's residence and the placement site makes daily commuting difficult, or where public transportation is unavailable at the start or end of the placement, requiring the student to arrange separate accommodations or transportation. Nursing students must complete a required number of clinical practice hours to graduate, but if there are not enough placement sites near their universities, they have to travel to hospitals in other areas.

Among the nursing students surveyed, 86.5% said their university did not have an affiliated hospital. Students had an average of four placement sites far from home, and 32.2% had placements at five or more sites. Of those who had experienced placements far from home, 81.2% had stayed overnight in the area where they were placed. Of these, 86.2% had used paid accommodations: 54.2% had rented short-term accommodation such as a studio apartment or an officetel (multiple responses allowed; the same applies below), 50.5% had stayed in a gosiwon or gositels, and 29.8% had used lodging businesses such as motels or inns. Only 12.3% had used accommodations provided by their university or placement site.

Students who had incurred additional expenses for accommodation, transportation, meals and other costs for placements far from home over the past year estimated that their average total outlay was about 1.5 million won. A further 11.7% said they had spent at least 3 million won. A total of 88.3% said the costs of placements far from home had been a financial burden on them or their families, and 33.7% said they had considered taking a leave of absence or dropping out because of the costs. Family support was the most common way of covering expenses, at 81.8%, followed by income from their own work, including part-time jobs, at 47.7%. By contrast, only 1.2% said they had received financial support from their university or placement site.

The financial burden also put students' safety at risk. A total of 90.5% said they had given up their preferred accommodation conditions, such as safety and hygiene or proximity to the placement site, because of accommodation costs. A total of 71.3% said they had felt unsafe or anxious during placements far from home, and 19.6% of them said they had faced an actual threat.

Security concerns, including the surroundings of their accommodation and fears of crime, were the most commonly reported type of threat, at 70.2%. Threats encountered while traveling, such as traffic accidents or traveling at night, accounted for 51.3%, while 33.0% cited facility-related threats, including run-down accommodations and inadequate fire safety measures. In written responses, students described incidents such as an unfamiliar man opening the door and entering a gositels where a student was staying, and a stranger following a student on the way home after a night placement, prompting the student to call the police. One student said that, unable to find accommodation because of the cost, they had to drive a long distance and faced the risk of falling asleep at the wheel.

Rep. Kang Kyungsuk stressed, "Essential clinical placements for training nurses must not leave students with financial burdens and safety risks," adding, "The government should work with universities and placement sites to provide financial assistance for placements and put safety measures in place." A Korean Nurses Association official also said, "Clinical placements should not be treated as the sole responsibility of individual students," adding, "Institutional support is needed to create safe placement environments and provide financial assistance."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.