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An ambitious Donegal woman who traded hairdressing for nursing is giving her new career path 100% effort.
Catherine O’Donnell from Crove, Carrick, took the stepping stone into nursing during the pandemic. After 20 years of hairdressing, she decided to enroll in a Post Leaving Certificate (PLC) course in Nursing Studies with Donegal ETB’s Further Education and Training (FET) Service at St. Catherine’s Vocational School Killybegs.
This QQI Level 5 course is an entry-level programme for people considering a career in Nursing or Healthcare. People can enrol at any age, which suited Catherine’s ethos.
“Age can’t determine what you are going to do in life and what you can achieve. Now that my kids were getting older the timing was right for me,” she said.
Catherine, now aged 39, found life as a mature student busy but manageable with the support of her family. Following one year of study and work experience, she gained a full-time job at Killybegs Community Hospital. She is planning to study General Nursing at third level in Letterkenny or Sligo.
“When I made the choice to go back to school, I gave it 100% and I’m delighted now I did, I’ll always have something to take with me for my CAO.”
Nursing Studies PLC programme graduates are eligible to progress onwards to a range of higher certificate and degree programmes.
Catherine always had an interest in healthcare, the human body and caring for others.
She said: “I was self-employed in hair and beauty for 20 years. My career was very generous to me all down through the years, I got great experience working with people. Ethically, I’m a worker and when COVID shut us down, I knew I wanted to get back out there.”
The Nursing Studies PLC includes eight modules and 150 hours of work placement. Catherine particularly enjoyed Care of the Older Person training and went on to work in a private nursing home.
“150 hours seems like a lot but you need those 12-hour days to see the run of a place and see how patients are cared for from morning to evening. For me, it was great experience,” Catherine said.
Catherine wanted to explore public healthcare further and following a three-month placement at Killybegs Community Hospital, she was employed as a MTA – Multi-Task Attendant.
“I love it in Killybegs, the nursing triggers my gut feeling. I loved the nursing theory during our course. Anatomy and physiology have been with me throughout the courses I did my whole life. I was forever doing hair and beauty courses before this, including an oncology aesthetics course for my clients. In Killybegs I am supporting the nurses and seeing a lot more drips and injections.”
Now that Catherine has taken the leap, she realised that the pandemic was the turning point for her following her passion. She was delighted to be able to take that first step and stay close to home.
“It was a wee bit scary initially going into full-time studying, I was part-time working and had three children. We had four days in school and Friday was seen as our placement day. It was busy juggling it all. Being a mature student, you are getting a second chance at doing something and you don’t want to disappoint yourself,” she said.
Catherine gave it her all and scored well in her modules. She credits her tutors for their style of teaching, which she found was well-suited to mature learners.
Catherine found the year to be an ‘eye-opener’ of what nurses do.
“I would especially recommend this PLC to 18-year-olds who are just out of school and not 100% sure they want to commit to a degree. This is a year of experience, it gives you time, you’ll make new friends too and you’ll get that extra year to decide. Every day you are learning.”
Donegal ETB’s FET Service is now accepting applications for this QQI Level 5 PLC in Nursing Studies and twelve other one-year PLC courses around the county starting in September in Buncrana FET Centre, Donegal Town FET Centre (Drumcliff), Killybegs (St Catherine’s Vocational School), Letterkenny (Errigal College and FET Centre (Business Park Road)) and Stranorlar (Finn Valley College). They include Animal Care; Art, Craft and Design; Business Administration; Business Studies; Construction Technology; Early Learning and Care; E-Business; Health Service Skills; Inclusive Education and Training (Level 6); Nursing Studies, Microsoft Office Specialist Programme and Sports, Recreation and Exercise.
You can apply online through their website course finder (https://www.donegaletb.ie/fetcoursefinder/) using PLC as your keyword to find the course you want. More information on PLCs is available here: https://www.donegaletb.ie/feature/programmes/post-leaving-certificate-plc-programme/
Networking Event for Healthcare Students and Employers
Donegal ETB’s FET Service will also host a healthcare networking event, open to the general public, on Wednesday 10 May from 9.30am-1.30pm in the Radisson Blu Hotel in Letterkenny. This is an opportunity to hear about the range of healthcare courses provided by the FET Service around the county and meet employers in this sector. You can register for this free event here: https://bit.ly/3Lpeoyu
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