Thanks to everyone who has paid their annual registration for 2020. Online registrations continue to grow, with 26% more using the online method.

Our new registration system which will launch later in 2020 will make this process even easier, giving applicants and their employers real time access to updates on applications and certificates.

This year will be a year of celebration with a number of events happening across the country to coincide with the 200 year anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth.

To support this important date, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has designated 2020 as the International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife.

After a long and committed career to nursing and the health service in Ireland, Dr Siobhan O’Halloran retires as Chief Nursing Officer at the Department of Health. Siobhan has held many key positions in the Irish health service and the education sector.

She was Head of the School of Nursing, Midwifery, Health Studies and Applied Sciences at Dundalk IT. She also worked as Executive Director of the National Implementation Committee for Undergraduate Nursing at the Department of Health.

NMBI would like to invite applications from member of the public to participate on a number of our Board committees.

NMBI committees are established to assist the Board in the performance of its functions and to ensure the availability of a broad range of contributions.

Following the enactment of the Coroners Bill in January 2020, coroners now have stronger powers of investigation in relation to maternal, perinatal and infant death. Under the new rules, it is mandatory for such deaths to be reported to the Coroner.

The HSE is providing daily updates for the public and healthcare professionals on the outbreak of coronavirus in China.

Information ranges from signs and symptoms to advice, guidance and algorithms for health professionals. There will also be updates on the current situation in Ireland.

Visit the HSE website for more information.

As we begin a new year and indeed a new decade, NMBI would like to give our readers an insight into the important work of our Board members, and begin with a profile of NMBI President, Essene Cassidy.