The body which regulates nursing and midwifery has included Donegal in its inaugural roadshow of college campuses across the state.
The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI) is hosting a discussion event at ATU’s Letterkenny campus on the future for mental health nursing as part of its inaugural Summer Series.
The evening discussion – from 5pm to 7pm on Thursday 16 June – will have a panel discussion involving distinguished local and national academics. NMBI’s President and CEO will also be in attendance.
The Letterkenny event is entitled: Mental Health and Wellness in the North West: A Shared Vision and Collaborative Mission.
The panel event will focus on Mental Health Nursing, suicide prevention and interventions. There will be discussions on pioneering new ways of promoting wellness as well as an examination of the role of mental health nurses in the delivery of high-quality care.
An overview of career pathways in the North West region will also be presented. The evening event is an opportunity to hear from leading clinical and academic experts in the field of mental health nursing and from NMBI representatives on future plans for education in nursing.
Essene Cassidy, President NMBI
President of NMBI, Essene Cassidy, said: “This Summer Series has been designed to facilitate open conversations about the practice of nurses and midwives and the innovations taking place in our professions right now.
“We are very grateful to the Department of Nursing at ATU Letterkenny for co-hosting the final event in the series, and I look forward to productive discussions on the very important area of Mental Health Nursing.”
NMBI CEO Sheila McClelland (pictured above) said: “Senior NMBI staff members will be in attendance in Letterkenny, listening to our professionals about how they work now in 2022 and how they hope to work into the future.
“We will also be sharing insights and data from our Register of Nurses and Midwives following the digitisation of the registration process. I want to thank ATU Donegal and the other four Schools of Nursing and Midwifery for their efforts and enthusiasm in designing the programme for the Summer Series.”
Director of Education, Policy and Standards at NMBI, Carolyn Donohoe, said she is looking forward to hearing contributions from panel members including both clinical and academic experts.
“The Summer Series is a wonderful opportunity to take NMBI outside Dublin to regional college campuses; to discuss new innovations in nursing and midwifery and to examine how our professions can adapt and change in the years ahead to lead on improvements for our health service users,” said Ms Donohoe.
Dr Louise McBride, Head of Department at ATU Donegal who is also Vice-President on NMBI, said: “We are really looking forward to the Summer Series event and the conversations we will have among colleagues. It really is a great opportunity to discuss and reflect on the work of our academic and clinical partners.
“We are grateful to our regulator, the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland, for launching their first ever Summer Series events and bringing one of those events here to Letterkenny. We look forward to seeing friends and colleagues at our Letterkenny campus on Thursday 16 June.”
The NMBI/ATU Donegal Summer Series event is a free event from 5pm to 7pm on Thursday 16 June. Tickets are available on EventBrite here: NMBI Summer Series | Eventbrite
Guest speaker will be Donegal man John Meehan who is Assistant National Director and Head of the National Office for Suicide Prevention (NOSP) with responsibility for implementing the recommendations set out in Connecting for Life (2015 -2024) Ireland’s Suicide Prevention Strategy.
The Donegal native began his career as a psychiatric nurse and worked in London for 13 years in several clinical and managerial positions. Before taking up his current role in 2017, John held a number of leadership mental health roles over a 16-year period in the west and north-west of Ireland.
His national brief was extended in January 2018 to include Mental Health Strategy and Planning with responsibility for Mental Health Service Planning including supporting the implementation of national Mental Health Policy, Sharing the Vision (2020 -2030).
John has a keen interest in cross border collaboration and currently chairs the Cooperation and Working Together (CAWT) Mental Health Strategic Oversight Group.
The Summer Series events are being held in Cork, Limerick, Athlone, Sligo and Letterkenny.
