There are dramatic differences between the three branches of nursing - general, mental handicap and psychiatric - so applicants need to be well clued in.
The role of the nurse is expanding. And the education system is changing, with the current three-year diploma, which replaced the old apprenticeship-style training, giving way to a four-year, full-time degree, beginning next September.
Raphaela Kane, programme director for the degree programme at DCU, says students who drop out of nursing courses usually do so because they haven't done their research properly. Find appropriate work experience, she advises. Points alone will get school-leavers into the course but they won't help them stay. (DCU was unable to provide figures for dropouts.)
The points required to gain a place at DCU, this autumn, ranged from 380* (DC303 psychiatric nursing) to 410* (DC301 general nursing) in the first round of CAO offers but, in common with other colleges, the uptake was poor. The cut-off levels fell in the second round, ranging from 230 (DC306 mental handicap nursing) to 345 (DC301 general nursing).
Looking out of the window from the present nursing school, at the end of DCU's growing campus, the cars parked below yield to Kane's persuasive enthusiasm, and are transformed into the proposed new state-of-the-art building with its "innovative and progressive simulated learning environment". A simulated ward with simulated patients (mannequins who "breathe", "groan" and even "pass wind") will take pride of place. The possibility of also having real live clients is being explored, says Kane, who is project manager for the new building.
This new environment will be very important as the there will be less clinical exposure in the early years of the new degree programme, Kane explains.
DCU currently has 660 undergraduate students, and is linked with six partner hospitals/services, offering all three nursing specialisms. The new building will cater more than 1,000 students, with 880 at undergraduate and 120 at postgraduate level.
The undergraduate students who begin the three-year diploma this autumn will face 86 weeks of clinical instruction and 58 weeks of theoretical instruction before they enjoy 12 weeks' holidays. Studies include nursing, biological sciences and social sciences. Diploma graduates can continue their studies to degree level.
Kane is dismissive of critics who suggest that the knowledge gained during college-based education precludes graduates from being a caring patient-tender. "The caring element of the nursing programme is as central as it has always been," she says.
The degree will include one practice module in each semester. This will be done in a hospital, community or voluntary setting. With six modules in each semester, and each module the equivalent of 36 contact hours, students will have to work hard. "We have included some optional modules, possibly a language, inter-cultural studies or a nursing specialism such as palliative care or critical care. These specialist modules will be of enormous benefit to those who embark on postgraduate studies."
There is also one year's rostered service in practice. Kane says: "In DCU, we have placed that in the second semester of third year and the first semester of fourth year. So students finish in an academic setting. It allows them to consolidate what they've seen and learned."
Kane is proud that the college has managed to maintain the integrity of the summer holidays, which allows students to work during the summer rather than during term-time. She laughs as she says: "The new degree is a fantastic opportunity. I'd love to be doing it myself."
For a copy of the leaflet Nursing: a career for you, which details minimum entry requirements, as well as continuing education opportunities, contact Bord Altranais, 31-32 Fitzwilliam Square. (www.nursingboard.ie)
Guidance counsellors who wish to arrange a visit by DCU nursing staff to their school should contact Grace Hickey at (01) 700 5947 or e-mail grace.hickey@dcu.ie
