NUACHTÁN SAOR IN AISCE VOL. 20 Issue 08. 29 JAN 2019
Student Independent News
Majority of those attending student counselling are female and in the college of Arts By Áine Kenny The NUI Galway Student Counselling Service delivered counselling to 1,427 students in the academic year of 2017/18, according to their annual report. This was an increase of 58 students, and a four percent increase on the previous year. 62 percent of clients were female, 37 percent were male and less than one percent were transgender or gender fluid. 78 percent of those attending counselling were undergraduates, 19 percent were postgraduates, one percent were on the Access programme, and two percent were undergraduate repeats. 44 percent of attendees were from the College of Arts, Social Science and Celtic Studies. 18 percent were in the College of Science. 14 percent were from the College of Business,
Public Policy and Law. Nine percent were from the College of Engineering and Informatics. 12 percent of those attending the service were from the College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences. One percent were from Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge, and one percent were from Access. Anxiety was the most common reason why students attending counselling, with depression being the second. Other issues students were facing included relationship problems, academic difficulties, loss, self and identity, abuse and addiction. 11 students were assessed as a severe suicide risk and 34 students were at moderate risk of suicide. The report noted the high success rate of counselling in retaining students and improving grades. 96 percent of students who attended
5 Distillery Lane said that counselling helped them stay in college. 97 percent of students said that counselling helped them do better in their academic work. 97 percent said attending sessions had improved their self-esteem, and 98 percent said that the service helped them feel more positive about the future. The anonymous comments from the service users in the report were very positive: “I had experienced severe trauma but the centre gave me so much support. I cannot express how it helped to turn my situation around”, “counselling helped me stay off drugs and stay in college” and “thank you for all your help through this difficult time, you have made a huge difference and I really appreciate it” are just some of them. However, the report was highly critical about the persistent lack of funding and
space allocated to the counselling service. The average waiting time for ongoing counselling appointments last year was 17.7 days. There was an increase of four days in waiting times for the first available counselling appointment post drop in/assessment. “It is important to bear in mind that for much of the college year there was a significant waiting list for counselling and the demand outstripped the capacity of the service to deliver, especially in the six weeks prior to examinations each semester, a time when student support is most important to ensure retention and progression,” the report stated. The report recommends a “major reconsideration of the scale of the actual service” in order to provide for “increasing numbers of students with complex mental health difficulties.”
The report also highlighted that NUI Galway aims to increase the percentage of students from non-traditional pathways to 24 percent of the student population. Currently, non-traditional students make up 22 percent of the population. “However, the numbers of students from non-traditional pathways attending the Student Counselling Service last year was 43 percent of our total client numbers, which demonstrates the additional support needs of these students,” the report outlined.
If you have been affected by the contents of this article, the Student Counseling Service is located at 5 Distillery Road (near AIB bank, Newcastle Road). Their phone number is 091 492484 and their email is counselling@nuigalway.ie. Samaritans can be called 24/7 on 116 123.
Ban on paid placements for pharmacy students removed By Martha Brennan Pharmacy students across the country breathed a sigh of relief this past week as they welcomed the removal of a ban on paid work placements. On 23 January, it was announced that the ban would not continue after lengthy protests from current and past students, as well as the Union of Students in Ireland. Anyone completing a pharmacy degree from 2015 onwards, which can be completed in Trinity College, University College Cork and the Royal College of Surgeons, is required to complete placements in the final two years of their course. Students who began Photo: USI their degree before 2015
could be paid by the hospital or pharmacy they were working in for their placement, but an overhaul of the course was introduced four years ago. Before the overhaul, pharmacy students studied in college for four years, and then completed an internship for one year. Any students who began the degree
after the overhaul must now complete a four-month internship in fourth year, and an eight-month placement the next year, which were to be unpaid before last week. They also now face fees of up to €8,500 for completing their fifth year – which is considered a master’s program. Current fifth year students were unaffected by the overhaul and are completing yearlong placements (which may be paid), and are paying lower fees. The day after the removal of the payment ban, a large number of students continued with their plan to protest outside the Dáil against the overhaul. The protest was organised by the USI and the Irish Pharmaceutical Students Association.
Oisín Hassan, the USI’s Officer for Academic Affairs, told the Irish Times that he welcomed the decision to remove the ban, but pointed out that paid internships were still only optional. Paying the high master’s fee while not being paid for a full-time placement would pose problems for countless students, and the USI and the Irish Pharmaceutical Students Association fear that the cost could deter students from pursuing a degree in pharmacy and make the career elitist. A survey conducted by the USI of current fourth year pharmacy students – who are the first to face the issues around the new overhaul – found that 91 per cent of respondents believed the introduction of higher final year fees was unfair. 111 students of the 137 surveyed said they worked a part-time job during their unpaid placement. More than 60 per cent of respondents said the lack of payment had limited their
options when selecting where to undertake their placement. Representatives from the USI and the pharmaceutical student’s association met with the Minister of State for Higher Education Mary Mitchell O’Connor on the day of the protest to discuss the issues and seek clarity about the payment of placements following the removal of the ban. Darragh O’Loughlin, chief executive of the Irish Pharmacy Union, told the Irish Times that working pharmacists had been opposed to the payment ban since it was introduced. “Nobody was calling the IPU and saying isn’t it great we’re going to get some unpaid labour,” he said. When this issue went to print, no announcements were yet made from the meeting with the Minister – but it is expected that the protests will continue if the new degree structure isn’t modified to better suit student’s needs.