Nursing is a very popular career choice with girls and, of course, the occasional boy. Last year, there were about four applicants for each place on the three-year college-associated diploma courses which prepare students for a career in nursing.
In all, there were 3,948 applications for 734 general nursing places; 968 applications for 201 psychiatric nursing places and 550 applications for 173 mental handicap places. Some students applied for more than one type of nurse training, so the number of applications exceeded the number of applicants.
Nursing places are not yet allocated through the CAO. This year, An Bord Altranais will take over the management of the Nursing Applications Centre, which deals with general and psychiatric nursing, and the centre has been renamed the Nursing Careers Centre. The Mental Handicap Nurse - National Applications Centre will continue to look after this branch of training.
The applications process and, indeed, nurse education itself is in a state of transition. At present, all applicants are called to an assessment test and, on the basis of their results, a proportion are called for an interview early in the summer.
Last year, roughly 4,000 people sat the assessment test for general and psychiatric nursing and some 1,600 were called to interview. Applicants are ranked on the basis of the interview and, subject to students attaining certain minimum educational standards in the Leaving Certificate, they are offered places. An additional 10 per cent of the interview mark is awarded to candidates who fulfil the Leaving Certificate requirements in one sitting.
Educational requirements
The minimum educational standards have been the cause of much angst among applicants and their guidance counsellors. In effect, NUI matriculation requirements were imposed on all applicants regardless of which college they would be attending. This was purely a historical development as the course was first piloted in NUI Galway in 1994. The main reason for the discontent was the NUI requirement for English, Irish and a third language.
This year, An Bord Altranais's minimum education requirements apply and, in addition, each college is allowed to specify additional requirements. An Bord Altranais requires prospective students to be at least 17 years of age on June 1st in the year of application and to have obtained a minimum of two higher-level C3s and four grade D3s in ordinary-level papers in the Leaving Certificate in the following subjects: English or Irish; maths; a lab science subject (biology, physics, chemistry, physics and chemistry [joint] or agricultural science); three other subjects which may include Irish or English or a lab science subject not already included.
Foundation-level Irish and maths are not accepted. Students with equivalent educational qualifications may also apply. Students may accumulate the minimum educational requirements over not more than two sittings of the Leaving Certificate or equivalent qualification. Mature students, over the age of 23, must satisfy An Bord Altranais as to their suitability for entry by means of an assessment test and an interview.
The additional educational requirements laid down by the colleges vary, with TCD and UL requiring English and a language other than English and the NUI colleges (UCC, UCD, NUI Galway and St Angela's College, Sligo) retaining the NUI matriculation requirements. The institutes of technology in Athlone, Dundalk, Letterkenny and Waterford and DCU do not specify any additional requirements.
Ms Bernadette Fagan, public relations officer for the Institute of Guidance Counsellors, says the IGC welcomes "the removal of the third language requirement from four of the five accrediting bodies. This increased flexibility and the clarity of the application procedures are helpful in promoting the option of nursing as a career choice."
Some dates to watch out for:
General and psychiatric nursing competitions will be advertised on Thursday, January 21st, Friday, January 22nd and Sunday, January 24th. The closing date for completed applications is Friday, February 19th.
Assessment tests will be held in early April and interviews will be held at the end of June and first three weeks in July.
Offers of places will be made immediately following the issuing of the Leaving Certificate results in August.
The National Applications Centre - Mental Handicap will hold a separate competition and selection process. The competition for places will be advertised on Sunday, April 11th.
Next week, An Bord Altranais will announce details of an information campaign planned to support the competition.
Nurse education
Nurse education continues to evolve. The old style of training is often referred to as the apprenticeship model. This has been replaced by a three-year college-associated diploma. And in 2002 this diploma will be replaced by a four-year degree programme, with places offered through the CAO.
If you are applying for nurse training this year you will complete the three-year full-time programme. This includes 86 weeks of clinical instruction, 58 weeks of theoretical instruction and 12 weeks' holidays. Successful completion of the programme will lead to registration with An Bord Altranais and the award of a diploma in nursing from the linked third-level institution.
Trainee nurses are paid an annual non-means-tested grant by the relevant health board or hospital. Uniforms are provided to students free of charge and free meals are available. Textbooks are supplied up to the value of £200.
Graduates of the three-year diploma have the option of doing a further one year full-time to gain a degree. The free fees initiative does not apply to this additional year and students have to pay in the region of £2,000. This is an anomaly in the education system, as other students who pursue the certificate/diploma/degree route are eligible for free fees as they progress up the ladder of opportunity at undergraduate level. The argument has been made that the diploma is sufficient to meet An Bord Altranais requirements, but all of the national diplomas offered by the institutes of technology are also complete in themselves. It is the student who opts to remain in education to degree level.
The Nursing Commission has recommended that the four-year degree available in 2002 should incorporate "one year of employment, with structured clinical placement in the health service and be fully integrated within the third-level education sector". Nursing students would be treated in the same manner as other third-level students and eligible to apply for means-tested maintenance grants in the normal way. They will be paid 80 per cent of a first-year staff nurse's salary during their 12 months' work placement.
Other recommendations of the Nursing Commission include the establishment of a bursary or sponsorship system to promote applications by mature students. It also recommends that the board promote the profession as a career option among male candidates.
Nursing remains a predominantly female profession. Of the total number of nurses and midwives registered with An Bord Altranais at the end of 1996, 93 per cent were women.
Nursing as a career
Of the 27,264 nurses employed by the health boards and voluntary hospitals or agencies, 95 per cent are at staff nurse grade. The Nursing Commission has made a number of recommendations on career development for nurses. These include the establishment of a national council and the provision of a three-step clinical pathway, so that nurses can progress from registered nurse/ midwife to clinical nurse or widwife specialist and advanced nurse or midwife practitioner.
As to job prospects, at present there is a staffing crisis in most hospitals, so qualified nurses are virtually guaranteed a job.
The Nursing Careers Centre has just produced an up-to-the-minute booklet on nursing as a career. This provides general information on nursing, nurse education and training and continuing professional education.
The Nursing Careers Centre (general and psychiatric nursing) can be contacted at PO Box 6703, Dublin 2.
The National Application Centre - Mental Handicap is at PO Box 3017, Dublin 15.
Nurse training in the UK
Students who are disappointed in their application for nurse training in the Republic may consider going overseas. Entry into nursing in the UK is also via a third-level qualification. You can opt for a three-year diploma or a three-year B.Sc. in nursing studies, depending on your Leaving Certificate results. Nursing courses are exempt from the tuition fees which have been reintroduced in British colleges (students on other undergraduate courses pay on a sliding scale up to a maximum of £1,000 sterling per year, depending on their means). Applications for nursing in Britain are through the British central applications body, UCAS, or the Nursing and Midwifery Admissions Service.
Helpline
Students, parents and teachers with queries about colleges, courses and application procedures are invited to call the College Choice helpline between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. today. Tel: (01) 679 2099
Group Orders
Schools can get group orders of 10 or more copies daily of The Irish Times during the four weeks of College Choice at a reduced rate. To avail of this offer, call freephone 1-800-798884 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday to Friday and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on Saturdays.