What is supernumerary status?
The following guidelines are intended to clarify the position on students’ supernumerary status during clinical placements. The Nursing and Midwifery Council (2004) defines supernumerary status to mean “the student shall not as part of their programme for preparation be employed by any person or body under a contract of service to provide nursing care”. “All students undertaking pre-registration nursing and midwifery programmes have supernumerary status while on practice placements. That means that they are additional to the workforce requirement and staffing figures” (RCN 2007) “The student is present in the placement setting as a learner and not as a member of staff. However, they must make an active contribution to the work of the practice area to enable them to learn how to care for patients” (RCN 2007) Students are supernumerary throughout their course. This does not mean that they are merely observers.
