Hayley O’Neill

Bachelor Of Science In General Nursing
Dundalk Institute Of Technology

Initially I didn’t get the points I needed, and it took me four years to get the course that I wanted, but I got there in the end. I worked for four years, in a hotel, in a nursing home, then I went to do dental nursing before I tried one more year, and I finally got my course. In 2023. I did a PLC in nursing – my Dad said I’d be good at it. I didn’t ever consider it before, and then I tried it and I loved it.

Definitely try pre-courses if you’re not sure – don’t just jump into a course. I think PLCs are great, they’re not that expensive, and it will definitely show you if you will like something or not, and if you’re suited for it. You have to do placement on a PLC, that’s how I got my second job working in the nursing home. Nursing can catch a lot of people off guard though, it’s not what they expect. There’s a lot of responsibility to it. If you don’t like talking to people, if you don’t like communicating with families, it’s not for you.

I did three of my placements in Our Lady of Lourdes in Drogheda. I also did a placement in Navan. It’s a very gratifying job. You can go anywhere with nursing, you’re always assured a job, there are many career paths – you can go off and do lecturing. I love my lecturers, they’re very supportive. You could also be a clinical nurse specialist. It’s not all bedside nursing. In my course, you learn something new every day.

It was amazing when I was in theatre. I was seeing stuff that nobody would ever see in their lifetime. That was really interesting, to be taught by surgeons. They’d let you hold specimens, and they’d include you, anesthesiologists too. I would recommend doing nursing, but it’s important to know what’s ahead of you.

Read the full Education special in the current issue of Hot Press: