Despite a critical shortage of nurses, student nurses through-out their studies have spent over 1000 hours of unpaid work completing free labour in the name of "education “. The New Zealand Nursing State Examination which student nurses have to sit after completing their degree has put many students into financial and mental hardship.

The questions many students face do not determine who is and who is not a competent nurse. A lot of the multiple-choice questions in the exam do not have clear answers, or are very similar. The future of New Zealand's next generation of nurses comes down to luck. By failing this unfair examination, students face financial hardship by having to pay money every time they sit the state exam. With three chances and no change, three year degrees will go to waste.

This has a direct impact on the community and is leading to the crisis of the nursing shortage that New Zealand faces. We demand a re-structure and reconsideration of New Zealand State Nursing Examination questions by the New Zealand nursing council.