Voting to elect two people to the Board of NMBI will open on Monday, 23 September 2024 at 9am and close on Wednesday, 2 October 2024 at 12pm. 

The candidates for election are:

Only nurses and midwives who were on the Register on Monday, 26 August 2024 at 1pm will be eligible to vote. Voting is electronic and will take place through the election portal. Election and e-Voting information will be issued on, or before, Monday, 23 September 2024 to eligible registrants by email. The email will contain detailed instructions on how to vote. 

Further information on the candidates for election can be viewed on our election portal.

If you have any queries regarding the election contact election@nmbi.ie.

On 5 July, NMBI, in collaboration with the Chief Nurse's Office in the Department of Health, was delighted to hold the ‘Education Excellence in Nursing and Midwifery’ conference at the Printworks, Dublin Castle.  

The conference focused on how excellence in nursing and midwifery education ensures that nurses and midwives practising in Ireland today are well-prepared to deliver high-quality patient care.  

We were delighted to work in collaboration with education bodies, clinical partners, students, senior leaders and experts to create the programme of education excellence. The diversity of speakers provided a wealth of expertise and perspectives to delegates. The day was a great way of showcasing exemplar nursing and midwifery practices around the country including developments in public protection and patient safety. 

The conference was an opportunity to celebrate all those who collectively provide innovative teaching and learning, in both the education setting and in practice. It also provided a platform to acknowledge all the learning that is available and to remind ourselves of how we can educate, lead and develop our students, nurses and midwives. 

We would like to thank the Chief Nurse's Office in the Department of Health for their support in making the conference a success. Thanks to panel members and speakers who gave of their time and expertise.

We would also like to thank everyone who took time out of their busy schedules to attend. 

We appreciate your valued contributions and look forward to future collaborations.

We would like to remind our readers that the consultation on our draft Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics for Registered Nurses and Registered Midwives (the Code) is now open.

We are inviting members of the public, particularly nurses and midwives, to participate in an open consultation process.

NMBI is responsible for setting the standards of ethical behaviour and professional conduct which the public and other stakeholders can expect from nurses and midwives. These standards are outlined in the Code. Through our fitness to practise function, we are responsible for considering complaints against nurses and midwives. All nurses and midwives registered in Ireland should practice in line with the Code. It aims to protect them and those they care for.

We have revised the Code to reflect changes within the professions, in the healthcare system and broader society. The changes to the Code include an increase from five to six principles, adopting a one-word description of each and incorporating a values statement under each of the principles.

With the aim of creating a one-stop-shop for professional guidance information, the draft document incorporates:

• The Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics for Registered Nurses and Registered Midwives (2021)
• The Scope of Nursing and Midwifery Practice Framework (2015)
• Ethical Conduct in Research (2015)
• Recording Clinical Practice (2015)
• Social Media and Social Networking (2013)
• Practice Standards for Midwives (2022)

We would really appreciate your views. Your first step is to read the draft consultation document and then submit your feedback by completing the online survey. You can also send your written feedback to submissions@nmbi.ie. 

The closing date for submitting your feedback is 5pm on Wednesday, 2 October 2024. 

We will be attending this year’s Ploughing Championship to promote the professions of nursing and midwifery, and showcase opportunities to anyone considering a career that makes a difference.

As part of our commitment to promote the professions, we would love to meet with secondary school students who are considering choosing nursing and midwifery as a career.

If you, or anyone you know is attending the Ploughing, you are welcome to pop in and say hello.

We will be at the Government of Ireland Village, in the Housing for All | Empowering Careers, Skills, Literacy and Apprenticeships Marquee – Block 3, Row 11, Stand 172.

You can keep up to date with our campaign to promote the professions by following us on Instagram @nmbi_ie through the hashtags: #CareerinNursing #CareerinMidwifery #ACareerThatMakesADifference

We look forward to seeing you there.

NMBI in partnership with the Office of Nursing and Midwifery Service Director (ONMSD) will attend The Irish Times Higher Options careers fair.

The event will run from Wednesday, 25 to Friday, 27 September and provides secondary school students with information on choosing further and higher-level courses.

Our attendance at Higher Options underpins our continued commitment to promoting the profession of nursing and midwifery, encouraging school students to consider a career in nursing and midwifery.

If you know of anyone interested in a nursing and midwifery career, they can visit our stand and we will be happy to answer their questions.

The site inspection summary reports for Royal College of Surgeons Ireland (RCSI) and South East Technological University (SETU), Waterford are now available on our website.

As part of our mandate to protect the public, we assess and approve all education programmes in nursing and midwifery across the country, conducting site inspections of university and college departments, and their partner hospitals and health services to ensure high standards of nursing and midwifery education and practice. 

The site inspection of SETU Waterford took place in February 2024, while the site inspection of RCSI took place in March 2024. Both reports were approved by the Board of NMBI on 29 May 2024 and published in July.

The inspection reports provide an in-depth look at each undergraduate programme leading to registration and include a summary of the commendations, conditions and recommendations, where appropriate.

We would like to thank both education bodies and their practice partners for their collaboration.

The reports are available to view on our website.

We are proud to say that, for a second year, NMBI has earned the Great Place to Work® certification.

To achieve certification, our staff members took part in the Great Place to Work Survey® and shared their experiences of working in NMBI. The survey asked members to rate their experiences across several areas, including management and leadership, communication and involvement, recognition, engagement and our culture.

Their feedback showed high levels of trust in management, and we are pleased to have been recognised as a great place to work.

Speaking about the recent certification, our Interim CEO, Carolyn Donohoe said: “I would like to congratulate everyone at NMBI for achieving the Great Place to Work® recognition. Our organisation is built on the principles of trust, equality and fairness. This certification shows the positive culture that is embedded in our organisation”.

We have published the site inspection monitoring update report for Atlantic Technological University (ATU) Mayo.

This report is an update of the ATU Mayo site inspection report approved by NMBI on 27 March 2024. The monitoring update report is based on information provided by ATU Mayo in collaboration with their practice partners.

As part of our role as a regulator, we assess and approve all undergraduate programmes leading to registration in nursing and midwifery. To ensure these education programmes are of a high standard, we conduct site inspections of university and college departments as well as their partner placement sites. The report provides an in-depth look at each education programme and include a summary of the commendations, conditions and recommendations for best practice in professional education.

We would like to thank ATU Mayo and their practice partners for their collaboration and engagement with the process.

The report is now available on our website.

The Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly announced that from 1 March 2024, amendments have been made to the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2017.

The purpose of these regulations is to amend the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2017 to insert Lisdexamfetamine into Schedule 8, Part 5, to allow registered nurses and registered midwives to prescribe Lisdexamfetamine for use in mental health or intellectual disability care. 

The regulations are now available to view online. S.I. No. 71/2024 - Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Regulations 2024 (irishstatutebook.ie) 

Last month, we were delighted to meet with adaptation leads, clinical practice facilitators and support nurses for an information session on the adaptation and assessment of internationally educated nurses (IENs).

Our Director of Registration, Dr Ray Healy opened the workshop by providing statistics on IEN applications from the State of the Register, as well as information on the qualification recognition and registration process.

Ann-Marie Murray, NMBI’s Education Assessor and Project Lead, spoke about the background to the project and gave an overview of the new guidance document and revised Competency Assessment Tool which we published in June to support IENs and Health Service Providers. The guidance documents were developed to provide clarity and transparency to IENs and clinical sites to meet the standards for registration with NMBI.

Barry McBrien, Assistant Professor in General Nursing at the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin facilitated an interactive round-table discussion while sharing insights from his research on nurses who have come to Ireland to practise.

Attendees also heard from Finola O’Brien, Adaptation Lead at Tallaght University Hospital and National Lead for Adaptation (HSE Nursing Homes) who shared her expert knowledge and experience of facilitating adaptation and assessment programmes. Carly Smith, Adaptation Lead at the Saolta Hospital Group presented her research on ‘the Lived experiences of Preceptors’.

We would like to thank everyone who attended and our speakers who shared their valuable insights.