General Nursing

General Nursing is a rewarding profession, where you have many opportunities to make a positive impact on people’s lives. Throughout your training, you can expect to learn new skills and knowledge that help and assist patients.

Nursing is a combination of academic, communication and teamwork skills, underpinned by the HSE’s values of Care, Compassion, Trust and Learning.

General nurses work in a wide variety of settings such as hospitals, people’s homes, GP practices, residential care, nursing homes, nursing agencies, prison services, community health centres and hubs, as well as the pharmaceutical industry. Some of the more unusual workplaces where general nursing roles are offered include homeless shelters, refugee centres, professional sports clubs, theme parks and cruise ships.

Their compassionate and patient-centred approach plays a vital role in enhancing the well-being of their patients.

The duties for a Registered General Nurse (RGN) may include: 

• Delivering the nursing care of an assigned group of patients within a best practice / evidence-based framework.
• Managing a designated caseload.
• Promoting the health, welfare and social wellbeing of patients within our services.
• Actively participating as a multidisciplinary / interdisciplinary team member in all aspects of service delivery including case conferences, clinical meetings and team meetings.
• Assessing, planning, implementing and evaluating individual person-centred care programmes within an agreed framework and in accordance with best practice.
• Developing and promoting good interpersonal relationships with patients, their family / social network supports and the interdisciplinary care team in the promotion of person-centred care.
• Ensuring that care is carried out in an empathetic and ethical manner and that the dignity and spiritual needs of the patient are respected.
• Promoting and recognising the patients’ social and cultural dimensions of care and the need for links with their local community.
• Collaborating and working closely with the patient, their family, the multidisciplinary / interdisciplinary team, external agencies and services to facilitate discharge planning, continuity of care and specific care requirements.
• Providing appropriate and timely education and information to the patient, their family and be an advocate for the individual patient and for their family.
• Reporting and consulting with senior nursing management on clinical issues as appropriate.
• Maintaining appropriate and accurate written nursing records and reports regarding patient care in accordance with local / national / professional guidelines.
• Participating in innovation and change in the approach to patient care delivery particularly in relation to new research findings, evidence-based practice and advances in treatment.
• Participating in clinical audit and review.
• Participating in community needs assessment and ongoing community delivery of care as appropriate.
• Undertaking Key Worker role as appropriate.
• Promoting a positive health concept with patients and colleagues and contributing to health promotion and disease prevention initiatives of the HSE.
• Delegating to and supervising the work of other grades of staff within the remit of their role, as appropriate.
• Demonstrating flexibility by rotating / assisting in other units / care settings as required to meet nursing resource needs and the requirements of the integrated services programme (ISP).
• Referring clients to other services as required.

Skills required:

Nurses should have a wide range of skills, including exceptional communication that can be adjusted to each individual patient’s needs, emotional intelligence with the ability to show empathy and understanding. These include being able to:

• Demonstrate the ability to build and maintain relationships including the ability to work effectively as part of a multidisciplinary team.
• Demonstrate evidence of ability to empathise with and treat patients, relatives and colleagues with dignity and respect.
• Have strong critical thinking for making informed decisions, crisis management for emergency situations and the ability to stay calm under pressure.
• Have strong organisational skills, the capacity to collaborate well with other healthcare professionals, and the ability to recognise if a patient is at risk.

Further details can be found on the Careers Portal