Nursing
Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health ...
is self-regulated in
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
. The regulatory body is
An Bord Altranais
The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI), formerly called , is the Regulator for the professions of nursing and midwifery in Ireland. It has a statutory obligation to protect the public and the integrity of the practice of the professions ...
(The Nursing Board). The board was established under the 1950 Nurses Act and currently operates under th
1985 Nurses Act There are currently over 82,000 nurses registered by An Bord Altranais of which over 65,000 are on the active registe
ABA Statistics 2006
There are currently nine divisions of the register: nurse prescriber, advanced nurse practitioner, general, psychiatric, children's, intellectual disability, midwifery, public health and tutor.
Developments
Following Henry VII’s dissolution of monasteries, nursing became near non-existent in Ireland for almost three hundred years. The easing of the Penal laws allowed the emergence of volunteer associations of women who formed to aid the sick such as the Sisters of Mercy led by Catherine McAuley and Irish Sisters of Charity led by Mary Aikenhead.
In parallel, nursing as a public service was also practised by the inmates of workhouses; this is notable as the network of workhouses and infirmaries are the precursor of modern Irish health via key legislation such as the Medical Charities Act of 1851 and reviews of the Poor laws such as 1868. However, nursing as a regulated profession in Ireland began when the Irish Workhouse Association, which was formed in 1896, demanded that staff must be formally qualified.
Significant changes have occurred in Irish nursing since the publication o
Report of The Commission on Nursing, A blueprint for the future
Nurse education
Pre-registration nurse education is university and college based. All pre-registration programmes are at degree level (NQAI level 8). Nurse registration education programmes are governed An Bord Altranai
Requirements & Standards
Significant developments have occurred in post registration nurse education with a variety of programs available to nurses to support their practice and develop their career.
References
External links
The Irish Nursing Journals Collection, a collection of 20th century journals pertaining to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation.A UCD Digital Library Collection.
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