Nursing And Midwifery In Ireland

Over the past ten years, nursing and midwifery in Ireland have experienced a considerable number of changes, driven principally by the Report of the Commission on Nursing, published in 1998, and the health service reform programme, announced in 2003. In the same period, Irish society has become wealthier and more culturally diverse, creating new challenges for nursing and midwifery. In Nursing and Midwifery in Ireland, Yvonne O'Shea sets out to identify the role for nursing and midwifery in the health services of the future in Ireland and to formulate a strategy for the professional development required for the professions. The book has three parts. Part 1 sets out to establish the context within which the professions of nursing and midwifery operate in Ireland by examining the implications of recent key policy developments and the roles played by the Report of the Commission on Nursing and the National Council for the Professional Development of Nursing and Midwifery. Part 2 forms the core of the book and is based on seventy-seven interviews with senior figures in the health services, including policymakers, service managers, medical consultants, educators and leaders of nursing and midwifery. Part 3 goes on to outline a strategy for the professional development of nursing and midwifery, including key steps necessary to reach objectives and to realise the strategy's long-term vision. Published at a time of significant change within the health services in Ireland, the book is intended as a contribution to ensuring that nursing and midwifery take their place at the heart of health service transformation. It will be of great value to all role players in the Irish health service.

The Professional Development of Nursing and Midwifery in Ireland: Key Challenges for the Twenty-First Century provides a unique overview of the many changes that are taking place in the Irish health services, and details how they will continue to affect the professions of nursing and midwifery. It explores how nurses and midwives interact with others in the health services and how nursing and midwifery are a rich resource in the delivery of an efficient and effective healthcare service. This book is a comprehensive guide to what it means to be a nurse or midwife in today’s Irish health services. It is essential reading for all those involved in nursing and midwifery education (both students and educators), and is a reference book for clinical practitioners, employers and all those involved in the formulation of policies for the health services and the regulation of the professions.

The story of nursing and midwifery in Ireland has remained hidden in the pages of medical and social history. This book tells that story.

This book deals with the central theme of freedom to practise midwifery in selected countries of the world. Each chapter has a separate author who has specific knowledge of the country for that chapter either as a citizen or researcher. The underpinning theme of this book is the philosophy of best midwifery practice - particularly that which is evidence-based. To clarify the meaning of the term, the book includes an initial chapter that discusses the aims and realities of achieving 'best practice' - wherever in the world a midwife may be and under whatever circumstances she may be working.

In February 1919, 20 nurses and midwives meeting in Dublin to discuss their poor working conditions took a historic decision to establish a trade union - the first of its kind in the world. The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) now numbers 40,000 and is Ireland's largest nurse and midwife representative association. This book examines the heady social and economic backdrop that gave birth to the INMO, putting names and faces to the founders and delving into the challenges they encountered. It details the Organisation's conservative middle years and its recent emergence as one of the most vocal protagonists for nurses, midwives and patients in Ireland, while also exploring the vast and varied service that the Organisation provides to its members. The prospect of a nurses' or midwives' strike always raises concerns for patient welfare, and the book looks closely at how the INMO has negotiated this tension, most especially during the 1999 national nurses' strike - one of the largest strikes in Irish history. A Century of Service is brought to life by a fascinating series of in-depth interviews with the INMO's members and leaders in a story of an organisation that with talent, tact and tenacity is delivering despite the odds.