Nurses and midwives to get €1,000 Covid recognition payment

Nurses and midwives who worked during the pandemic are to receive a €1,000 tax-free payment from the Government.

The Government says it is working to make the payments over the next few months.

Those workers eligible for the payment will be:

• public service health and ambulance workers
• those seconded or assigned to the HSE (for example: Defence Forces staff seconded/assigned to HSE testing centres)
• supernumerary students who were required to perform training in clinical sites
• staff in private sector nursing homes and Hospices affected by Covid-19

A pro-rata arrangement will apply for eligible part time staff.

Tanaiste Leo Varadkar said the payments were “recognition of their work in dangerous and challenging conditions during the pandemic, and for the thousands of lives saved as a result of their efforts.”

The full Government statement can be read here.

Irish Cancer Society Scholarships

The Irish Cancer Society is currently accepting applications for its Social Science, Nursing, and Allied Health Research Scholarship 2022.

The objective of the Irish Cancer Society SNAH Researcher Scholarship is to offer excellent graduates from nursing, allied health, and social sciences the opportunity to undertake structured postgraduate training in world class cancer research. Part-time PhDs are also possible for nursing applicants who will hold a concurrent clinical post during the course of the PhD. Nursing applicants who will be taking time away from their professional clinical role may apply for a stipend in line with IUA rates and inclusive of PRSI and employer pension contributions. 

Proposed projects can be in any of the following areas: a) translational biomedical research, b) clinical trials, c) survivorship, or d) strategic priorities. Applications can be made through the Irish Cancer Society Gateway Grant Tracker online system.

Further information about our open calls, including application guidelines, can be found here. 

The deadline for applications is 3pm Tuesday 22 February 2022.

Pandemic sparks surge in applicants for English nursing/midwife courses

Increasing interest in nursing and midwifery careers in Ireland due to the pandemic is also being reflected in other countries.

New figures released in England show that applications from school leavers have increased 38 per cent since 2019, with applications from mature students also up by more than a third.

A report by the Universities and College Admissions Service (Ucas) found that 69 per cent of recent applicants said the Covid pandemic had inspired them to become a nurse.

Ireland saw a huge increase in applications via the CAO last year, with 10,905 applications for 2,044 places.

You can read a report on the English research in this article from The Guardian newspaper.

History of Irish nurses in Britain to feature in second book

A retired Irish nurse has set her mind to writing a second book, chronicling the personal stories of Irish nurses who went to Britain.

Ethel Corduff, who hails from Tralee in Co. Kerry, is the author of Ireland’s Loss, Britain’s Gain: Irish Nurses in Britain, Nightingale to Millennium.

An article on the book was recently published in Britain’s biggest Irish publication, The Irish Post.

Ms Corduff announced in the interview she is developing a sequel to her first book and hopes to have it published in 2022.

The Irish Post article and interview can be read in full here.