NMBI Chief Executive Sheila McClelland and the organisation’s Director of Education, Policy and Standards Carolyn Donohoe have delivered keynote addresses to the All-Ireland Nursing and Midwifery Festivals at The Helix, Dublin City University (DCU).
Ms McClelland spoke at the Midwifery Festival on 29 March with more than 100 delegates in-person at the event and 300 more online.
The CEO used the latest data from the MyNMBI registration system to set out the number of midwives on the register and details of those practising and the need for more midwives in the years ahead.
She also spoke about the effects of Brexit, the National Maternity Strategy 2016-2026, Slaintecare and the impact of Covid-19 on maternity services over the past two years. Ms McClelland also urged student midwives to follow careers in leadership to give voice to the profession in the years ahead.
Ms Donohoe addressed the Nursing Festival at The Helix on future developments on nursing and nursing education in Ireland. She also used latest data from MyNMBI to show that almost 5,000 people joined the NMBI register for the first time in 2021. More than 3,000 of the new registrants came from outside the EU.
The Director, addressing the festival remotely, said NMBI monitors 67 pre-registration courses and 224 post-registration courses.
Ms Donohoe set out the challenges facing nursing in Ireland in the years ahead as the population of the country continues to grow.