Beyond the points race: After multiple rejections, Megan secures nursing place through new route

FOR Limerick woman Megan Ryan, a diagnosis of dyslexia, a non-traditional Leaving Cert, and a flawed lottery system stood between her and her calling.

Now, thanks to a radically different approach to education, she’s well on her way to the career she was born to do and gearing up to commence a degree in Nursing at MTU Tralee.

The Elton native said she always knew she wanted to care for others and became accustomed to this in her youth as she often helped to look after her aunt Maggie who has an intellectual disability.

Megan struggled in school, particularly with maths and studied social care after completing the Leaving Certificate Applied (LCA) programme at John the Baptist Community School in Hospital. Megan said the LCA was a great programme. “It's great for people that really do struggle with the Leaving Cert because the Leaving Cert isn't for everybody.”

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She would like to see more schools offer the LCA programme as she feels she really would have struggled to undertake the traditional Leaving Cert. “I probably would have been very hopeless after it. It's very tough when you're dyslexic trying to learn and to retain all that information.”
Megan then studied social care but said it wasn't exactly what she wanted to do.

As part of her work placement for the course, she worked with children with autism in a primary school in Cashel. “I just loved the job that they did and how they looked after the children and the bond that they had with the kids. I just knew then that it was nursing that I wanted to do.”

The Limerick student first began applying to study nursing through the Central Applications Office in 2020 and undertook a pre-nursing course in Croom, earning eight distinctions. Megan also applied to study nursing as a mature student but was unsuccessful.

Finally, she heard about the National Training Organisation (NTO) on the radio and discovered a more accessible route. She likened the NTO interview process to how nursing candidates were once selected—based more on passion and motivation than academic records.

Megan will start her first year of a Bachelor of Science in General Nursing at MTU Tralee later this year. “It doesn't feel real yet,” said Megan.

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“I feel like it's going to be a big chapter in my life, and it's something I'm very looking forward to.”
Megan said she was “delighted” to finally be accepted into a nursing programme and she is currently looking for accommodation in Tralee for the upcoming academic year.

When Megan initially went for interview to pursue the course, an educator at the college assured her that she was a good candidate and that this route to education would be a good opportunity for her.
“She said that I had good dedication and I do. I really have dedication for it as something that I really want to do... I keep trying till I do succeed and do get it because I know it is so difficult to get.

“I work with some nurses, and they have had to go to England and had to go to Scotland to get their nursing,” explained Megan. The aspiring nurse knows many other people who wanted to study nursing but were unsuccessful. “They just didn't get it and then gave up in the end and that's kind of heartbreaking to hear,” added Megan.

“They could be lovely nurses and they have that passion for it, but they just didn't meet the traditional requirements.”

Speaking about the lack of nurses and healthcare staff across the country, Megan said: “I think it's an important thing to look at because there is a shortage of nurses in this country, and I do feel like a lot of people would go for nursing if they had this option... I feel like it will create more opportunity for people and for health care in this country.”

Megan previously worked at Ard na Ri Nursing House in Bruff for three years. “It got me really just focused on becoming a nurse then and what I wanted to do. It helped me grow as a person,” she said.

She has been working as a Health Care Assistant for Milford Care Centre since 2021. The ambitious woman thrives in a health care setting but admits she still experiences challenges learning about anatomy and physiology as she didn't study biology in school.

Looking to the future, Megan would love to specialise as a palliative care nurse. “Milford have community staff nurses, and they go out and look after people in the community... I just aspire to be one of those nurses. “I just think it would be a job worth doing and it's something I would love to do and to achieve.”

She also aspires to work in emergency departments or in the area of pediatrics. “I haven't worked in a hospital setting before, so it's going to be very exciting,” she enthused.

The National Tertiary Office was established in 2023, representing a new era in Further and Higher Education, providing enhanced access for people of all ages, some of whom may not be able to earn a Bachelors Degree otherwise.

Tertiary Bachelor Degrees see students commence their degree journey in an Education and Training Board, with a seamless transition to Higher Education Institutions.
Entry is not based on points and there are no tuition fees for the first one to two years.