Q: I`D like to work in the administrative side of a hospital, especially dealing with patients. I did a secretarial course when I left school but I find my present office job very boring and tedious. I'd prefer to work with people. Is there any special course for this? Would it take long?
- Portlaoise reader
A: The first thing you should do is apply for any available job in your local health service or hospital as a secretary in medical records, admissions, out-patients or any other support department which is currently available. Having got that job you should then register with the Institute of Hospital and Health Service Administrators at Hume Street Hospital, Dublin 2 - phone (01) 676 7935, mornings only - and apply for a course in medical records and patient service management which is run at DIT Kevin Street, two evenings a week for one year at a fee of £345.
The course covers areas such as health service management, patient record management, medical terminology, anatomy and physiology, principles of organisation and management, information technology, communications and statistics. Your secretarial skills will be most useful on this course and you can develop additional skills in communications and management.
If you intend applying as a mature student, you need to be over 23 years of age by January 1st of the year in which you propose to start the course. Otherwise you will need a pass in five subjects in the Leaving Cert to include English and maths.
Q: I'm 24 and I'd really like to further my education but I have so many different ideas about what I would like to do, that I need some guidance. I work in a computer company as the office administrator but I'm not sure whether to further my education in this field or do something completely different. Where can I get some career guidance?
- Dublin reader
A: I suggest you contact two sources. The Institute of Guidance Counsellors works mainly at second level, but its members would be able to put you in touch with counsellors who work in the field of adult guidance in the Dublin area. Contact the chairperson Roisin Kelleher at (023) 41099.
Then there's Aontas - phone (01) 475 4121). This national association of adult education, a voluntary body, would also be able to help you to get some guidance before making a decision. Aontas has published a very useful document, Applying to College or University as a Mature Student.
The adult education section of the Department of Education and Science has also published a very useful booklet, Guide for Mature Students 1998: Entry to Full-time Third-level Courses. Copies are available free from the Curriculum Development Unit, Dublin 12 - phone (01) 453 5487. These guides set out entry requirements and deadlines, financial implications, support groups and other useful information.
Since the introduction of the free fees initiative in 1996, there are no fees for most full-time undergraduate courses. However, there are fees in part-time and distance courses, although you would qualify for tax relief on fees at the standard rate as long as you're taking an approved course of a minimum of two years in certain third-level institutions and private colleges. This tax relief is aimed at those working and paying fees from their own income. From the tax year 1997/98, relief will be extended to approved distance courses which meet the code of standards. You can get further details on eligibility from the Department of Education at (0506) 21363.
Maintenance, however, would still be a major cost if you return to full-time education. If you apply from your parental home, you will be assessed for grant eligibility on the basis of both your own income and that of your parents. If you apply independently and live within 15 miles of college, you are eligible for partial maintenance.
Q: My daughter started second-level school in September and I don't think she is settling in well. She doesn't want to talk about it. What could be troubling her? What can I do to help?
- Kerry mother
A: Changing from primary to second level school can be quite daunting for a youngster. There is the usual difficulty for children at this stage of becoming "a small fish in a big pond." Then, too, there are more subjects and many more teachers and their various personalities rather than just one teacher.
You could try asking leading questions such as which subject/teacher does she like best and which sports does she enjoy? What kind of games does she play at lunch break? How does she find the rest of the class? Has she made any new friends? How are her pals from her old school doing?
It may be that old friendships are breaking down because they are in different classes. Your daughter may be lonely or isolated for these first few crucial months. She may be shy and finding it hard to adapt to this much bigger and busier world. She may be worrying about exams or about her results in class tests. Perhaps the school work and the home work is difficult and she may need help for a few weeks to get established in all these new subjects.
As a young teenager, she may worry about her sexuality and self-image, especially since she is in a co-ed school. It could be just that she is finding it hard to cope with so much change in such a short time.
She may not want to discuss her anxieties with you straight out but you can show concern and support and I'm sure she will get round to talking in her own time. You might be able to glean something from one of her friends but be careful of how you approach it in case they think they are being disloyal.
Now that the mid-term break is over, you could contact her tutor, year head or guidance counsellor. Ask that they observe her for a few weeks. If there's a parent-teacher meeting coming up, you could check things out there.
Is any bullying going on? Tell the teachers of your worry and that you would appreciate some feedback from them. If there is no improvement by the end of November, you should ask the guidance counsellor to have an informal chat with her.
In the meantime make it as easy as possible for her to talk by giving her every encouragement, reassurance and support. Tell her you are happy with her progress, that all you want is that she do her best and that you will help her in any difficulties she may have.
Questions can be answered only through this column and not by phone or post. Write to Sile Sheehy, Education & Living, The Irish Times, D'Olier Street, Dublin 2 - or by email to education@irish-times.ie
