Enhancing Compensation for Nursing Internship Programs
National Chung Cheng University's Department of Labor Relations has proposed a groundbreaking two-phase structure for nursing internships in Taiwan, aiming to rectify the current structural injustice where nursing students pay tuition yet receive unpaid internships [1].
The proposed model separates the internship into a tuition-based phase and a performance-based compensation phase, with the intention of ensuring fairness and incentivizing high performance among nursing interns [1].
During the initial phase, which lasts four days, students focus on closely mentored, skill-building. Tuition covers insurance and instructional costs. Students may receive a modest daily subsidy for transportation and meals but no wages [1].
In the second phase, students assume semi-independent clinical roles and become eligible for compensation. The compensation scales with performance, with top-tier interns receiving a NT$5,000 bonus, second-tier interns getting a NT$2,000 bonus, no bonus for the third tier, and the bottom tier required to repeat the internship at their own expense [1].
The typical internship tuition remains NT$6,000, while minimum performance-phase compensation is NT$7,328 for four, eight-hour days at NT$229 per hour [1]. This waged internship model aligns with international standards, making stipends a legal and ethical imperative.
The model reframes learning as a value-generating process, recognising interns as active agents, and supports learning through failure. A review assesses clinical skills, teamwork, patient feedback, and documentation quality [1].
Payment in the performance phase is tied to outcomes, not just attendance. The unpaid internship system that charges tuition is considered unjust and corrosive. The Labor Standards Act in Taiwan stipulates that a paid internship system recognises time, knowledge, and professional growth as educational and economically measurable contributions [1].
The proposed model, advocated by Professor Chu Jou-juo, aligns with a just internship framework that offers dignity, compensation, and a culture that values honesty. It encourages learning from mistakes, taking responsibility for outcomes, and being rewarded for genuine contributions [1].
[1] Source: National Chung Cheng University's Department of Labor Relations press release.
In this proposed model, the education-and-self-development phase focuses on skill-building and mentorship, with tuition covering necessary costs. In the subsequent phase, personal-growth and high performance are rewarded through performance-based compensation and a waged internship model.
