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Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 18 Nov 1997

Vol. 482 No. 8

Written Answers. - Nursing Qualification Requirements.

Michael Noonan

Question:

168 Mr. Noonan asked the Minister for Health and Children the current academic requirements for entry to nursing; the manner in which nursing recruitment is organised; the changes, if any, which he will make to either the academic requirements or the recruitment arrangements in 1998. [19533/97]

The minimum educational requirements prescribed by An Bord Altranais for entry to student nurse training are grade C/C3 or higher in two higher level papers and grade D/D3 or higher in four ordinary or higher level papers in Irish, English, Mathematics, a science subject and two other subjects, accumulated over not more than two sittings of the leaving certificate. These minimum requirements apply to any school of nursing not yet participating in the new nursing registration-diploma programme. In practice, the individual schools of nursing have operated higher requirements due to the numbers of applicants applying for places.

The educational requirements applying to the nursing registration-diploma programme are based on the An Bord Altranais minimum adapted to take account of third level requirements. These are a minimum grade C/C3 in higher level papers in any two of the following six subjects and a minimum of grade D/D3 in ordinary or higher level papers in the four other subjects —Irish, English, Mathematics, one other language, a laboratory science subject not including home economics — social and scientific — and one other subject which may include home economics — social and scientific — but may not include home economics — general. These subjects and grades may be accumulated over not more than two sittings of the leaving certificate.

The application-selection procedure for places on the nursing registration-diploma programme is handled by the Nursing Applications Centre. This centre was established in 1995 on a pilot basis to provide a national and centralised applications and selection system for applicants seeking places on the programme. The philosophy of equity and parity of treatment of all applicants underpinned this development. The establishment of the Nursing Applications Centre has enabled those interested in a career in nursing to apply to all schools of nursing offering the nursing registration-diploma programme by way of a single application. This has resulted in a streamlined system which has eliminated the need for multiplicity of applications to individual schools of nursing.

At this stage most of the schools of nursing have made the transition from the traditional model of training to the diploma based programme and I am committed to completing this process next year. Price Waterhouse Management Consultants are currently carrying out an evaluation of the Nursing Applications Centre with the overall aim of ensuring that the most up to-date application and selection procedures are employed with maximum equity and effectiveness. One of the central issues that Price Waterhouse has been asked to address is the educational requirements for entry to the nursing registration-diploma programme. As part of this evaluation Price Waterhouse project-managed the application-selection process for the 1997 intake of student nurses. Certain modifications to the procedures employed in previous years were introduced this year with the objective of streamlining the application-selection process. These included the replacement of the preliminary interview by a written assessment test.
Price Waterhouse will shortly report to my Department on its evaluation of the Nursing Applications Centre. Decisions as to the future operations of the Nursing Applications Centre and the procedures employed by it will be made in the light of the recommendations contained in the management consultants' report, which will be informed by their experience of project-managing this year's application-selection process.
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