College Choice: Last year was the first time nursing formed part of the CAO system and entry to the profession is now solely based on academic achievement. In previous years interviews were used, but these were increasingly seen as too subjective for selecting people for this most important of roles, writes Emmet Oliver.
However the move towards selecting candidates on an academic basis alone does not mean the shortage of nurses has been alleviated.
On the contrary, hospitals around the State claim they need a huge influx of nurses and the shortages are so acute this country now brings them in from as far away as the Philippines.
The National Health Strategy, unveiled before Christmas by the Minister for Health, Mr Martin, pointed out how important nurses were to expanding the number of beds in our hospitals.
You would think against this grim background there were no young people interested in bringing comfort to those in hospital and in the community. Far from it. Last year there were over 6,500 applicants for nursing places.
This was a surprise to many in the third-level sector who had not realised the number of students wishing to pursue a nursing career.
While some of the 6,500 also applied for other courses and may not have ultimately been able to take a nursing place, it still shows there is a healthy interest in the area.
But despite this queue of young people coming forward to work as nurses (and thereby address the chronic shortages in our hospitals) the system could only offer 28 per cent of them a nursing place last year.
While lack of resources to pay for nursing places no doubt plays a part, it seems strange that at a time when all observers of our health system agree we need more nurses, thousands of interested students are being turned away.
It will be interesting to see if as many students apply this year, but already the nursing board (An Bord Altranais) reports plenty of phone calls enquiring about the area from mature and Leaving Cert students.
Last year because of the high demand points soared, particularly on the first round.
After the first round the authorities still had places left because many of those offered one in the first round decided to opt for something else. With them out of the system the authorities were able to drop the points considerably in the second round.
That was a relief, because the points in the first round were exceedingly high. For example, you needed 460 points to do general nursing (CK713) at UCC/Cork University Hospital and 450 points to do psychiatric (CK720) or mental handicap (CK730) nursing at UCC also.
By the time the dust settled on the offers most courses required between 340 and 390 points, although there were some in the low 200s such as psychiatric and mental handicap nursing at DCU. The points for general nursing were still very high however in Waterford, Galway and Limerick by the time final offers were made.
Three branches
IF you are interested in nursing there are three branches available to you: general, psychiatric or mental handicap.
Points - as a general rule - were higher last year for the general nursing places.
This year there are 1,640 nursing places on offer, spread over the three disciplines.
They are also to be shared between school leavers and mature candidates. The nursing authorities are especially trying to encourage the latter. For example, 15 per cent of general nursing places are reserved for matures, although this quota, like others for matures, is approximate.
In addition to your normal degree and diploma/certificate list, you also have three further lists covering the three branches of the profession.
In other words, if you want, fill out all five lists (degree, diploma/certificate and the three nursing lists) giving you a choice of 50 potential courses later this year, points permitting.
There is not enough space in this column to describe in detail what the three roles involve. But general nursing normally takes place in hospital with nurses administering to patients in a variety of settings, including accident and emergency and surgery.
Psychiatric nurses care for people with psychiatric illnesses and try to rehabilitate them and help them to live in the community. Their work often involves working alongside physiatrists, psychologists, social workers and others, mostly within psychiatric hospitals.
Mental handicap nursing involves working with those with special needs. It takes place within institutions and in community settings. The work can often be attending to the physical needs of those who cannot support an independent lifestyle. But it also involves improving their communication and intellectual abilities.
Of the 1,640 nursing places available this year, 1,057 are in general, 343 in psychiatric and 240 in the mental handicap area.
If you get one of these places you then do a four year degree programme. This is the first year nursing has been offered at degree level by the CAO.
The training is very tough and many find it difficult. However the degree is internationally recognised and nurses can travel the world working in health systems virtually anywhere.
During the 3rd or 4th year of training, student nurses go on a 12 month placement in a hospital or clinic. During this period they are a paid employee of the health service.
Finances
The financial provision for students nurses has changed this year, and not for the better according to some people.
Student nurses up to this year received an annual non-means tested grant of £3,570 (€4,532) This is no longer the case.
From this year nurses embarking on the degree course will only be able to claim the ordinary student maintenance grant, currently €2,390 for those living away from home and €956 for those living at home, although there are top-ups available for particularly disadvantaged students.
Mr Richard Greene, chairman of the Adelaide Hospital Society, recently sharply criticised the move to discontinue the special student nurses grant, describing the decision as "shameful".
"It is now feared that many school leavers and mature students, whose family or personal financial means are low, will be debarred from a career in nursing," he said.
The board of the Adelaide has called on the Government to continue the student nursing grant "at least until the new degree programme has resulted in sufficient nurses to meet the needs of our health system".
As of now, there is no sign of this happening. However, the phasing out of the student nurse grant means student nurses are becoming just like any other third-level student. This has one advantage, student nurses will now have the same length of holidays as other students, whereas before they had to train for 48 weeks a year.
You do however get an allowance to purchase your uniform and some student nurses will be given a travel allowance in certain circumstances, says Ms Maria Neary, of An Bord Altranais.
If you manage to survive the four years financially, the work of a nurse is very fulfilling and with the current shortages getting a post should not be a problem.
As evidenced during the nurses strike however, pay rates are regarded as poor by the nursing union, the Irish Nurses Organisation.
There are an array of grades and posts in the profession, but salaries even at the top end rarely go beyond €57,000 (£45,000).
The best salaries tend to be for matrons, who can earn in some cases between €50,000 and €76,000. For the first part of their career most nurses earn about €28,000, although there are a range of allowances available depending on what area you work in.
Adelaide Hospital
It is worth noting that the Adelaide School of Nursing requires students to fill out a separate application form from the CAO form if they want to study there. On the basis of their answers in this form, they may be invited to interview by the Adelaide.
The Adelaide uses this system because it wants to retain its Protestant ethos. It uses the system because it says it has a particular obligation to applicants from the Protestant community.
Because of this, the Adelaide courses (TR910 and TR911) are restricted entry - in other words you must put them on your February 1st form and not later in the process.