The President of the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI), Essene Cassidy has praised all those involved in the organisation’s inaugural Summer Series events in June, declaring them a “huge success” for the professions.
NMBI co-hosted four events at college campuses focusing on different nursing divisions of the Register. A fifth event focused entirely on midwifery will be held later in the year.
The Summer Series – Discussions about Nursing and Midwifery by Nurses and Midwives – was designed to bring clinical and academic professionals and service users together to discuss the state of the professions and progress for the future.
Events were held at University College Cork (UCC) on children’s nursing, the Technological University of the Shannon (TUS) Athlone campus on general nursing, St Angela’s College Sligo on intellectual disability nursing and at the Atlantic Technological University (ATU) Letterkenny campus on mental health nursing. Each event was co-designed with the input of the college leadership teams.
A separate community event was also held in Dublin at the end of June, bringing together community nursing and midwifery leaders as well as stakeholders to discuss expanding partnerships and cooperation.
NMBI President, Ms Cassidy said: “Each division-specific Summer Series conversation was rewarding, informative and really enjoyable. These sessions gave us all, as professionals, an opportunity to debate and discuss issues relevant to each division, the context of where care is being delivered and look to the future identifying the opportunities that lie ahead.
“I was moved by so many speakers at each of our evening discussions and was struck by the compassion and care shown by our registrants in different healthcare settings including in the community and the passion they have for their profession.
“I want to thank each of the colleges for co-hosting the events with us and for the dedication and time they showed in the planning of the inaugural Summer Series. I also want to thank NMBI staff for their roles in each event. It was a truly remarkable series which made me proud of our professions.”
Frank Feighan, Minister of State at the Department of Health, attended the discussion at St Angela’s College and addressed those watching the event in-person and online.
The Minister also praised NMBI for the Summer Series initiative.
“The provision of NMBI’s Summer Series events for the different disciplines of nursing and midwifery professions across the country is welcomed by me, the Chief Nurse and everyone in the Department of Health,” said Minister Feighan.
“By undertaking the Summer Series initiative, NMBI has showcased the work being carried out by the Board, and the wider health service, by nurses and midwives, in supporting the implementation of the Sláintecare strategy.”
NMBI CEO, Sheila McClelland, Head of Operations, Kathyann Barrett, Director of Education, Policy and Standards, Carolyn Donohoe, Director of Registration, Ray Healy and Director of Fitness to Practise, Colm O’Leary attended the Summer Series discussions.
Provisional data from the MyNMBI online annual renewal system was shared with the different divisions of the nursing register at each event.
CEO Ms McClelland also praised the colleges and all those who took part in each event.
“The idea of the Summer Series was to engage with our registrants about their practice now in 2022, to listen to them and to guide us on the future direction of NMBI,” said Ms McClelland.
“Now that we have held our inaugural Summer Series we will plan to do similar events at different venues next year as part of an ongoing engagement with our stakeholders and in particular our registrants.
“The NMBI team thoroughly enjoyed each of the discussions in Cork, Athlone, Sligo and Letterkenny. As an organisation, NMBI took away so much from what we heard.”
NMBI’s Director of Education, Policy and Standards, Carolyn Donohoe, said the 2022 Summer Series had created a unique opportunity for the regulator to enhance engagement with both registrants and third level institutions.
“The education department I lead at NMBI sets the standards and requirements for dozens of different courses for nurses and midwives at our higher education institutions across Ireland and the Summer Series presented an opportunity to have in-person conversations with our academic partners on the future direction of our professions,” said Ms Donohoe.
“It was refreshing to hear from nurses at different stages in their careers, from students right through to those who are continuing to develop professionally at the highest level. They all gave inspirational testimonies on their career pathways and how that is enhancing healthcare by nurses today in Ireland.
“I would like to thank all the colleges once again for all their cooperation, advice and leadership shown during the NMBI Summer Series of 2022. We are already looking forward to another series of events in 2023.”
Chief Nursing Officer, Rachel Kenna provided a video address for each event and noted that the Summer Series was an excellent opportunity to place the spotlight on the different divisions of the register. She welcomed the series and hoped that NMBI and the professions could build on it into the future, adding: “My experience has always been that when you put nurses or midwives together in a room for a discussion, there are always positive outcomes.”
NMBI’s co-hosted Dublin community nursing event with nurses, midwives and stakeholders on 28 June has also been praised by those who took part. A full report on that event is included in this eZine.
