This Autumn, NMBI is jointly hosting four events in collaboration with HSE Centres for Nursing and Midwifery Education (CNMEs) in Waterford, Tralee, Galway and Dundalk.  

The events will focus on education and continuing professional development opportunities for nurses and midwives; health and wellbeing; State of the Nursing and Midwifery Register and NMBI’s Fitness to Practise process. 

Three events will be held in September in Waterford on Tuesday, 5 September; Tralee on Thursday, 7 September and Galway on Tuesday, 12 September. A fourth will be held in Dundalk on Wednesday, 22 November.    

The NMBI Series is free to attend and registration is now open for the events taking place in Waterford, Tralee and Galway. Tickets for the Dundalk event will be available in the coming weeks.

To find out more and to register, please visit the Events page of our website. 

On 13 July, NMBI launched an emotional support service for our registrants and witnesses during the Fitness to Practice (FTP) process.  

To launch the new service, we held a webinar with more than 80 people attending online. Attendees heard from our Inquiries Legal Adviser, Marie Therese Hackett who outlined our commitment to a more compassionate approach for everyone involved in the Fitness to Practise process.  

The support service is provided in collaboration with CiC, a leading Employee Assistance Programme provider. This is a freephone service, available 24/7, that enables those involved to speak with a qualified counsellor about any aspect of the FTP procedure. The support line is available to any nurse, midwife, nursing associate or witness going through the FTP process and any NMBI employee and committee member who may be adversely affected by a case or contact with a registrant. 

Details on how to access the service can be found in the flyer.  

There are also various organisations and agencies in Ireland that can provide advocacy or support services which are available to view on our website. 

For those who were unable to attend the webinar, the full presentation is available to view on our YouTube channel. 

NMBI has launched the third edition of the Public Health Nursing Education Programme Standards and Requirements. 

The updated standards and requirements were launched at an online webinar on 28 August with more than 50 in attendance. 

Attendees heard from our Director of Education, Policy and Standards Carolyn Donohoe and Professional Officer Mary Devane. 

Opening the webinar, our CEO, Sheila McClelland said: “These standards and requirements were developed to enable future practitioners to provide safe, effective care in line with the Sláintecare programme. They were updated following extensive consultation with key stakeholders and in consideration of the changes facing Public Health Nurses in their delivery of care.”  

Carolyn Donohoe acknowledged and thanked the huge contribution made by the working group in the development of the new standards and requirements.  

The document aims to provide guidance to education bodies (EBs) and their practice partners on the delivery of the public health nursing education programmes. It aims to ensure that graduates of this programme continue to provide a high level of care within the community and primary care.  
 
The standards and requirements have been revised in line with best practice and in consideration of the many changes and challenges facing healthcare and the role of the Public Health Nurse, for example to reflect changes in healthcare policy as outlined in Sláintecare.  

The new document has been developed following a public consultation and we would like to thank everyone who contributed. 

We would also like to thank everyone who attended today’s launch.

The Public Health Nursing Education Programme Standards and Requirements (Third Edition) is now available on our website.

We are happy to answer any questions you may have. You can contact our Education, Policy and Standards Department at: EducationandGuidance@nmbi.ie.

NMBI’s series of focus groups for our internationally educated colleagues continued, on this occasion at the Mater Hospital.  

The nurses, who have recently joined the Register, reflected on their experiences of completing an adaptation and assessment period as part of a compensation measure to become a registered nurse in Ireland. Their feedback will help inform a review of our guidance document on Compensation Measures for Nurses Trained Outside of Ireland.  

We look forward to continuing to consult with internationally educated nurses.

NMBI’s Fitness to Practise Officer, Jeanne Tarrant spoke to our colleagues at Beaumont Hospital, Dublin on 20 July. 

The event was organised by Marie Murray, Director of Nursing at Beaumont Hospital with more than 280 people in attendance. It gave us an opportunity to remind nurses and midwives about the importance of the Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics. 

Jeanne highlighted the importance of knowing the Code and how nurses and midwives can protect themselves and service users. During the session she shared anonymised case studies and invited attendees to take part by providing their insights into how the Code had been breached. 

We would like to thank those in attendance for the positive feedback and we aim to hold additional workshops in the future. 

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, 20 to Friday, 22 September and provides secondary school students with information on choosing further and higher-level courses. 

Our attendance at Higher Options is part of the support and guidance we provide for nursing and midwifery. We aim to deliver easy access to career opportunities, including information on education and training. 

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.

NMBI would like to congratulate midwife, Lane Galvin who took part in the 2023 Rose of Tralee.  

Lane, who represented Meath in the competition, works as a midwife in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda. She is also studying for a Master's degree at Dundalk Institute of Technology. 

In 2018, Lane was a member of the winning team in NMBI’s National Student Midwife Debate where she showed her passion for the profession. 

On behalf of NMBI, we want to acknowledge Lane’s achievement and wish her success in her studies and career.  

NMBI has published the second edition of The Role of the Expert Witness.  

The updated document provides guidance to expert witnesses involved in the Fitness to Practise process and outlines what they can expect if they are called to be an expert witness at an inquiry.  

An expert witness is a person whose level of specialised knowledge or skill in a particular field qualifies them to present their opinion about the facts of a complaint to an inquiry proceeding.  

This document is now available on our website.

The Board of NMBI has made decisions as to the finding and sanctions arising from two complaints.  

The findings are published in full on the Findings and Decisions page of our website.