General Nursing in Trinity or ucd?

avro

Hey guys, I am a 1st year student and have been studying general nursing in UCD for the past week. Yesterday I got a phone call from Trinity college offering me a place doing the same course (General Nursing). I'm just wonder how they both compare for studying nursing? Any help is greatly appreciated...

groovyg

Not sure what the difference is or how they compare course wise, one thing to look at is their placment options and will their location suit you in terms of travelling and stuff. That might be a decider on whether to switch or not.

avro

Thanks.. If I go to Trinity my placement will be st James but at the moment my placement is in the Mater??

Will

Main thing that I took into account when choosing my course in nursing was where the placements were. I chose UCD cos placements are all centred around dublin. Some of the trinity ones are in kildare etc. I'm in 1st year too by the way

If you are on the fence about it go chat with your tutor possibly and they will give you more advice.

avro

Ha dats a bit random!! which hospital havve you got?:)

Will

Got the mater too, handy and by all accounts it's very nice place to do work experience.

mertlemac

I asked my GP re nursing and I'm in 2nd yr UCD-he said Mater best training by far for nurse as far better range of experiences than any other hospital- stick with the UCD course AND good luck

molly199

I am in 2nd year in trinity and 6 people that started with me last year transferred to UCD this year (much more applied for transfers) because of better placement. I love trinity but some of the placements people had last year were ridiculous (kildare as will said) . good luck

avro

Does general nursing not go to St James mostly??? What was last years program like? did ye do clinical skills labs in st James?

Will

You do your general placements in james and up in tallaght in trinity I think. But as nursing students we will be doing other placements like intellectual disability, psych, community nursing, midwifery etc etc and most if not all of UCD's are based in dublin. Trinity's ones can be based outside of dublin. Friend of mine is just finishing ID nursing and he was based in monasterevin for 6 months

avro

Hey guys, do any of ye know anything about the Adelaide and Meath hospital or the Mater? which is a better teaching hospital?

groovyg

you should probably post this in the TCD thread as they are the hospitals that Trinity Nursing students go to. Have you decided yet if you are staying in UCD or going?

avro

Not sure yet there seems to be for and against both of them... I hate making decisions . would you know anything about what kind of support trinity give to their students?? I'v heard students don't get a lot of support but I don't know how true this would be?

mis

Hi. Im in final year in the mater, they have a very good support system for students, and nearly everyone really likes their placements there. You may be in cappagh/mater private/ Bons secours for a placement on a ward or for a specialist placement but most will be in the mater general. Try email the nursing program office in trinity or call in, think freshers starts there next week. Definitely consider both the hospital and the college cos you are going to spend a long time in the hospitals, but I would really recommend the mater.

avro

Thanks very much!! did you do your training in ucd? if so how much of your time is spent in the hospital on average?

mis

yep, trained in ucd. the amount of hospital time is set by bord altranis so its the same in every college, tho you may do different amounts in each year in different colleges at the end you are the same. Its nearly half and half. So definitely important to consider hospitals.

In first year Semester 1 is all college, semester 2 is about 4 weeks in hospital, 4 weeks in college, week off and 5 weeks placement.
2nd year, Sem1 is all college, Sem2 is all placement but you are on specialist placement so you will be moving around more, doing children's, midwifery, psych etc. 3rd year Sem1 is all placement, finishing specialist placements and Sem2 is all college.
4th year Sem1 is all college and you start your internship Jan-September in Sem2.

avro

Thanks for that.. I heard that the mater would be better than the tallaght hospital alright. Are you all finished now? Was there a high pass rate in ucd?

mis

Nearly finished. Nobody really fails nursing, some people may leave if they hate the nursing work on the wards but the exams in ucd are grand, not many people fail them and if you do they give you a chance to repeat them (and you can get feedback on where you went wrong in the first exam), you will have all your exam results before you finish placement.

Hardly anyone fails placement, if you are not doing well they tell you as you are going along and give you a chance to get better.

The main reason people might not finish at the same time as others is if they owe time, you have to do a certain number of hours, so if you are sick and miss days you have to pay it back but thats not a fail, its just incomplete til you finish the hours.

The mater is great for training, I would choose it again. Let me know if you have any questions.

avro

Thank you everyone I picked UCD in the end!!!! Thanks again...:D:D

Kiddd94

Hey , I'm a 6th year student and I want to do Nursing in college if I get the points ? Can any current Nursing students tell me a bit about the course ? Also , are there many males on the course ? I went to a Nursing presentation a few months and I was the only fella there ! :P Not that it would put me off just curious ? Thanks

beardedmaster

Kiddd94 wrote: »

Hey , I'm a 6th year student and I want to do Nursing in college if I get the points ? Can any current Nursing students tell me a bit about the course ? Also , are there many males on the course ? I went to a Nursing presentation a few months and I was the only fella there ! :P Not that it would put me off just curious ? Thanks

Males would make up 10-15% of the Nursing students, as far as I know. My brother studied Nursing in UCD, and I think that's what he said the ratio was like, back in his day. Could easily be more these days, it definitely wouldn't be less.

Kiddd94

beardedmaster wrote: »

Males would make up 10-15% of the Nursing students, as far as I know. My brother studied Nursing in UCD, and I think that's what he said the ratio was like, back in his day. Could easily be more these days, it definitely wouldn't be less.

Thanks

PoisonIvy

I'm doing the C&G integrated course in UCD, first year and we have all our lectures with the general students so I can tell you about both! I'd say the 10% ratio would be about right theres certainly plenty more girls! I really love the course but that said its definitely a vocation and I wouldnt listen to anyone who says otherwise. We have a good few hours in the first semester and its a lot of science and basic nursing skills. You'll then be out on placement for majority of semester 2 working on the wards basically full time, I just finished my first placement. Its tough going and long hours out there but that said I doubt if I've ever learned so much or enjoyed working somewhere so much before. If you think you have it in you to put up with the tough work and long and you've got the personality for it I would say go for it the reward of seeing your sick patient get better is like no other!

imjayr

Kiddd94 wrote: »

Hey , I'm a 6th year student and I want to do Nursing in college if I get the points ? Can any current Nursing students tell me a bit about the course ? Also , are there many males on the course ? I went to a Nursing presentation a few months and I was the only fella there ! :P Not that it would put me off just curious ? Thanks

hey Kiddd94, I am a male also interested in doing a nursing course in UCD. my first choice is Integrated nursing, I did a FETAC pre nursing course first to see if I really want to do nursing. There are many male student nurses that I have encountered with during my placement this year in Crumlin Hospital. I hope it works out for both of us.