Nursing and Midwifery

How do I become a Nurse or Midwife?

Nursing is an extremely rewarding career which enables you to make a positive impact on people’s lives. It is a combination of academic, communication and teamwork skills. Nurses are always in demand and this presents excellent employment opportunities.

There are multiple entry routes to the nursing and midwifery professions including direct entry from school, mature student entry and tertiary education programmes. The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI) will provide you with information on how to apply for any of the access routes.

Additional information on course availability close to where you live can be found on the Careers Portal Website.

Your role with the HSE

As a nurse within the HSE, you will be working as part of a multidisciplinary team, including medics, social work, occupational therapy, physiotherapy and other health and social care professionals.

Nurses provide care for individuals of all ages, families, groups and communities, and in all settings. In hospitals, you could be based on a hospital ward, Emergency Department, operating theatre or intensive care unit. You can also work in community settings, such as a primary care centre and even the patients’ homes.

There are five disciplines in Nursing and Midwifery:

– General Nursing
– Children’s and General Nursing
– Intellectual Disability Nursing
– Mental Health
– Midwifery

Career progression

The clinical pathway offers you the opportunity to work in a wide and varied range of nursing and midwifery roles. The emphasis is on providing direct patient care. It can lead to careers in specialist or advanced practice.

There are structured management career pathways for nursing and midwifery. This can lead to roles as clinical nurse or midwife managers, assistant directors or directors of nursing or midwifery.

The education pathway can lead to a career in education as nurse or midwife tutor within both educational and clinical settings.

The research pathway gives nurses and midwives the chance to use both knowledge and innovation to impact on evidence-based research.

Click on the following links for further information on each of the fields: Clinical, Management, Education, and Research.

Man being assisted by a health care professional

Further training and development

There are many training and educational opportunities designed to enhance the skills of our workforce and improve on the care our nursing and midwifery professionals provide.

Your local Nursing and Midwifery Planning and Development Unit (NMPDU) supports continuing professional development programmes, including masterclasses, workshops, study days and conferences.

There are leadership opportunities and a robust Personal Development Planning (PDP) process to assist you in your development throughout your career.

HSeLanD is our portal that offers an array of training and development opportunities.

If you wish to pursue further education, check NMBI‘s approved post-registration courses leading to an additional registration or click here for further information.

Staff benefits and testimonials

Working in a rewarding and challenging career is just one of the many benefits you’ll enjoy as a HSE employee. We offer attractive pay and benefits, professional supervision, career support and development opportunities, friendly colleagues, and an excellent quality of life.

See Pay scales – HSE Staff

Nursing and Midwifery has a wide range of roles and pathways, with something to suit all interests.

Please click here to hear just some of our incredible nurses and midwives talk about their work and their career in the HSE.