`I always wanted to do nursing . . .'

Mary Walshe is 36, and a clinical placement co-ordinator at a large Dublin hospital. Her salary is £25,500 a year.

When I was a teenager, my granny lived at home with us. She wasn't well at all, and I spent a lot of time looking after her - it was part and parcel of my life. So, when I was 17, I wanted to be a nurse. That's what I did.

A lot of people called nursing a vocation. They attached this kind of myth or fable thing to it, but personally I never thought of nursing as a "vocation". I saw it as a satisfying career choice. And in 1981 it wasn't easy to get into nursing either; it was a big thing if you got called for it.

I oversee students on clinical placements. Yesterday, I spent most of the day with a student in the intensive care unit, with road accident victims. Today, I was with two students in the children's ward. Depending on the time of year, I'd have on average about 15 students a week to deal with.

In a way, the things I enjoy most about the job are also those which make it hardest - the unpredictability of it all. You never know when emergencies will come up. Every day is different.

The profession still gives me satisfaction. I don't see myself leaving it. It's definitely a different job now though to when I started, but I suppose all jobs change over time. One thing I really notice is how the patient profile has changed. We see a lot of older patients these days.

Paul Moran is 25, and a staff psychiatric nurse at St Pat's in Dublin. His salary is £16,500 a year.

I've been nursing for five years. My father was a psychiatric nurse, so I knew well what I was getting into. I wanted to do this job because I saw it as a very practical application of subjects that were interesting to me; sociology and psychology.

Five years on, the job has turned out to be more or less what I hoped it would be, but I wonder if I had chosen something else, would I have been rewarded better. I mean in money terms. Most of my friends are earning a lot more than me, but I don't think they work any harder than me. People like to say we're a vocational profession, but everyone makes career decisions these days, and I don't think this job is any different.

There are 31 people on the ward where I work with four other nurses. The patients are suffering from different disorders - depression, anorexia, dementia, schizophrenia, alcohol or drug abuse. Some of the patients wouldn't be aware of their surroundings; their whole thought processes will have shut down, so you have to make sure they don't harm themselves, and escort them everywhere.

The hardest thing about the job is that we're always studying. You have to keep up with research in your field, it's constantly developing. And the hours - I worked 78 hours last week. You get a week off after you work hours like that. I mean, overtime wouldn't make sense. You couldn't work a 39-hour week back to back with a 78 hour one, it's just not an option.

Catherine Cawley is 37, and a staff nurse at St John's Community Hospital in Sligo. Her salary is £21,648 a year.

I started nursing at 18. I had been in the Civil Service for a year before that, but I didn't feel I was being challenged enough by the job, so I changed to nursing. I was idealistic enough to think I could make a difference. It didn't turn out like that. Like every job, nursing has its constraints.

I work with six other nurses in a men's ward of 45 patients. They're all there long-term, receiving continuing care. Some would have had a series of strokes, others would have MS, that kind of long-term illness. They're highly dependent; at least half of them can't dress themselves on their own, for instance.

You get to know them and their families really well, and build up a good relationship with them. I've seen patients' children come into the ward in their wedding dresses, and later on, come in with their babies. The ward is home to these patients and we try and make it as comfortable as possible for them. The families are really appreciative. That's what makes me come in every day; that feeling of satisfaction of knowing you've given good-quality care and people see that and thank you for it.

As I get older, though, the less happy I'm becoming with the job. It's not just the money, it's also leave. The inflexibility of the rosters is very frustrating, and I end up working a lot of weekends, which isn't what I want with my small children.

Mary Durkin is in her late 30s, and a ward sister at Sligo General Hospital. Her salary is £24,000 a year.

I've been in nursing for 20 years. I always wanted to do nursing, even as a child. I wanted to be part of the caring profession. I thought it would be a good career, with good opportunities. I'm quite happy with the career I've chosen, but after spending almost 13 years in study along the way, I feel aggrieved that I'm not being paid properly for all that extra work I've done.

I'm single and have no children, but I think if I was in a family situation, I would find the job overly stressful. Myself and another ward sister are responsible for a pool of 19 nurses who look after our ward of 30 men. I do a lot of admin and drawing up rotas for duty, and co-ordinating patient care, but I also find myself doing a lot of hands-on work myself now, and taking papers home at the weekend.

Still, I must say, hand on heart, yes I do really enjoy my job. But I can't see myself staying in the profession forever either. The private health care sector, yes, that would be a possible option.