Earlier this month, our Director of Midwifery, Dawn Johnston retired after a long and established career.
Dawn first joined NMBI as a Board member in 2015, before taking up the role of Director of Midwifery in 2017. She also served as Acting CEO in 2018 to 2019.
She has had a long and distinguished career as a midwife, continuing to hold a regular clinical session in a Dublin Maternity Hospital during her time with NMBI.
In a celebration of her achievements, we held an event at our office in Dublin to bring together many of her colleagues, friends and family from across Ireland and the UK.
During the event, her colleagues spoke of the huge contribution she has made to the midwifery profession. She was thanked for her compassion, her support and advice, and for her work in promoting the profession.
Speaking at her retirement, our President, Louise Kavanagh McBride paid tribute to Dawn and thanked her for all she has done for NMBI:
“Dawn’s knowledge, expertise and passion has been incredible over the years. I joined the Board of NMBI alongside Dawn in 2015 and have always admired the loyalty and support she has shown to her fellow colleagues.
“I would sincerely like to thank her for professionalism and I can genuinely say that she will be sorely missed. On behalf of the Board, I wish her the very best in the next chapter.”
Our Director of Education, Policy and Standards, Carolyn Donohoe also extended her best wishes and said: “Since I joined NMBI in 2021, Dawn has been a friend, a colleague and a great support to me. I have really enjoyed working with her and on behalf of all the team members we would like to thank Dawn for kindness, support and advice.”
In addition to NMBI’s celebration, Dawn was honoured at the International Day of the Midwife Conference on 5 May. In her closing remarks, Margaret Quigley, National Lead for Midwifery in the Office of the Nursing and Midwifery Services Director (ONMSD) in the Health Service Executive praised her for her contribution to the midwifery profession.
Paying tribute, Margaret said, “Your expertise, passion for midwifery, woman centeredness and your in-depth knowledge of the scope of midwifery practice has motivated many of us, and your advice and guidance over the years has promoted, protected and helped to shape the midwifery profession. Your absence will be felt by all of us in the weeks and months to come”.
A look back at her career
Dawn began her career in general nursing in Dublin before becoming a midwife.
After qualifying as a nurse in Ireland, she moved to the UK and studied midwifery. She held a number of clinical and management positions in southern England, including in London where she was one of four midwives who were at the time also Clinical Directors of Women’s Directorates in National Health Service (NHS) hospitals in the UK. Her last role in the NHS was Director of Midwifery and Nursing at Barts Health Trust where there were approximately 16,000 deliveries per year undertaken in five different settings, two of which were stand-alone midwifery led units.
Dawn is a proud midwife and has always been a champion for new initiatives. Her clinical experience covers all areas of midwifery practice including community and home deliveries, and water births.
Dawn served for eight years as a Fitness to Practise Panellist at the UK regulatory board, the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). She also assisted with reviews of maternity services in England and Wales for the Health Care commission and Health Inspectorate Wales
She returned to Ireland in 2014 and was appointed Group Director of Midwifery at Saolta University Hospital Group, providing strategic clinical leadership to five maternity units within the group.
Dawn was a member of the Ireland’s first National Maternity Strategy working group in 2016.
She holds a number of qualifications including an Advanced Diploma in Midwifery, a Master’s degree from Thames Valley University, a Master’s of Laws (LLM) in Legal Aspects of Medical Practice from Cardiff University, a Diploma in Management Studies and a post-graduate Diploma in Public Regulation.
Dawn has recently been appointed to the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) professional committee for Europe and will be representing Ireland.
When we asked Dawn about the highlights of her career, she said that every day has been a great experience and that being with women at such a memorable time of the lives was the most rewarding experience.
“Midwifery is all about being with women. They should be at the center of everything we do. The birth of a baby is the most significant time in their lives and is a cherished and a long-lasting memory. As midwives, we are always remembered for the significant impact we make to that experience and to have impacted so many women’s lives is a privilege”.
From all at NMBI, we would like to wish Dawn the very best in the future.
