Doctors, nurses, dentists, dieticians, pharmacists, physiotherapists, medical lab technicians, occupational therapists, and speech therapists are all highly important medical professionals and disciplines that are key to managing patients in the healthcare sector. All positions require extensive training and many need candidates to specialise heavily.
Nursing covers a variety of roles, General Nurse, Public Health Nurse, Midwife, Psychiatric Nurse, Practice Nurse, Theatre Nurse, Nurse Manager and Palliative Care Nurse are just a few of the many positions included. New fields are also emerging as new technologies become available, such as a Clinical Nurse Specialist.
Nurses can be found all over the world and in many settings, not just hospitals. There are careers in the World Health Organisation, a College Campus, or with charitable organisations like Concern. General Nursing can be studied in a number of colleges and universities in Ireland. Once completed, a graduate will obtain a Bachelor of Science in General Nursing and can register as on to An Bord Altranais. Further study may be required to progress in the career or to specialise further in fields such as Children’s Nursing.
A Qualification in General Nursing can also be used for careers in medical research. It is also recognised in many countries and opens up many opportunities to work abroad.
Midwives can work in both public and private healthcare. To qualify they complete a four year Bachelor Degree in one of a number of universities in Ireland. They then register to An Bord Atranais like General Nurses.
Medicine covers a huge range of careers. They can include General Doctors, Specialist Surgeons, Radiologist, Oncologist, Anaesthetist, Audiologist, Dermatologist, Paediatrician, Gynaecologist, Psychiatrists and more.
Becoming a Medical Doctor first requires an appropriate degree. When this is completed a candidate registers with the Medical Council and completes a year as an intern with one of the hospitals that are permitted to take them. Any Junior Doctor wishing to specialise must go through further training, like for General Practice. Qualification in this area requires another three years of training and then a year as a trainee in a teaching general practice. There is then an exam that must be completed to be admitted to either the Irish College of General Practitioners or The Royal College of General Practitioners.
The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation was originally founded in 1919 when a small group of nurses and midwives, came together, in Dublin, to address two issues namely:
An improvement in pay; and
The setting of professional standards for the performance of their duties.
The newly formed organisation, which was known as the Irish Nurses Union, actively recruited new members, in its early years, and made significant progress in relation to pay and pension, and the setting of standards through a range of educational initiatives e.g. lectures/policy documents.
The HSE is a large organisation of over 100,000 people, whose job is to run all of the public health services in Ireland. The HSE manages services through a structure designed to put patients and clients at the centre of the organisation.
