The serious things begin. At the Nursing Training Institute (IFSI) in Brumath (Bas-Rhin), the 69 first-year students listen carefully as their promotion coordinators introduce them to the second semester program. At the beginning of February the mood is good, the students are smiling. They take notes, nod their heads and ask the questions that come to mind. In this second semester, they continue to learn the basics of their future career by combining practice and theory. “You see us happy today”says Pauline Schneider, smiling, leaning against her table, “But last week it wasn’t the same atmosphere.”

The beginning of the year was not easy. First internship, intensive course schedule, final exams… IFSI Brumath students are tested. Sitting on metal chairs, they take advantage of this moment of peace before diving headfirst into the second stage of their course.

For several years now, nursing science has been the victim of a paradox: popular on parcoursup with high school students(in 2023, 658,893 wishes were expressed for 38,162 places), They are also almost deserted 10% of students from the first year onwards. And the phenomenon is increasing: According to research, study, evaluation and statistics, the number of dropouts in 2021 was three times as high as in 2011. In Brumath, six people have already decided to leave the training facility since September.

For some students, the prescribed pace creates a brutal transition between senior year and higher education. Léo Husson, 19, is one of the few boys in his class. The brunette with the laughing eyes had not expected such difficulty in the course content. “We work every day from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., we have to learn a lot, it’s very difficult », he sighs. His aunt, who is a nurse, has passed her passion on to him and he has a deep desire to help and care. But the first few months undermined the idealization of these studies.

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The start of the year was also difficult for Vanessa Buyukyalcin. The 42-year-old mother, former medical-psychological assistant – for seniors or people with disabilities – has retrained as a nurse. “ I was warned that it would be difficult, but it is even more complicated than I imaginedShe said with her throat clenched. In the first month, tears flowed spontaneously in the middle of class; I asked myself whether I had the necessary level of theory. I couldn’t handle all these MCQs and complex questions. » During her first internship in a residential facility for elderly people in need of care (Ehpad), Vanessa often felt let down by the management: “They saw that I had experience and sometimes left me alone, just that I needed more help. »

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