DCU Voices

DCU VOICES 44 Dr Mary Rose Sweeney Associate Professor andHead of School of Nursing, Psychotherapy and Community Health, DCU @sweeneyma 2020 was designated the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife by the World Health Organisation (WHO). The objective was to highlight and celebrate the work of nurses and midwives, and bring attention to what needs to happen next for the professions. The arrival of COVID-19 in 2020 meant there was little time for celebrations, but the work that nurses do suddenly became highly visible. The pandemic has illustrated that nurses and midwives are a valuable, highly responsive, adaptable and agile workforce, yet there is a global shortage of nurses and midwives, estimated at approximately 5.9 million. There is an immediate need to increase the number of student places on nursing and midwifery programmes to address this shortage. The education of nurses and midwives is expensive, requiring high staff-to-student ratios, comprehensive support structures, equipment and infrastructure. Investment in HEIs and their clinical partner organisations is urgently needed to ensure we have the personnel, resources and infrastructure required. The demographic profile of academic staff in HEIs is not favourable for sustainability or succession planning, as many nurse academics currently in posts will reach retirement age before 2030 and there are insufficient numbers in the pipeline to replace them. Investment is needed to ensure a supply of appropriately qualified academics with doctoral level degrees will be available in the system to facilitate the increment in student numbers to be accommodated over the next 10-20 years. Furthermore, the health and well- being of nurses and midwives must be better protected. Burnout and exhaustion, always issues of concern in these professions, have been particularly acute during the pandemic. Supports are also needed to enhance the retention of nurses and midwives currently in the health service. In Ireland, we are experiencing a demographic shift with people living longer. Better treatment protocols for chronic illness means more people have higher health care needs for longer. Responding to this changing demographic, a new policy framework for Ireland - Sláintecare - lays out a roadmap for a reconfigured health service. This will require nurses and midwives to Nursing and midwife education at a critical juncture Urgent investment is required to address the growing shortage of nursing staff and the academic expertise needed to train them, writes Associate Professor and Head of the School of Nursing, Psychotherapy and Community Health, Dr Mary Rose Sweeney. “The global shortage of nurses and midwives is estimated at approximately 5.9 million” pivot into new roles, in new settings and operate at higher levels of clinical autonomy. Meanwhile, to celebrate the International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife, the School of Nursing, Psychotherapy and Community Health, DCU hosted an online event on May 7 with contributions from keynote national and international speakers, as well as panel discussions. As part of our celebrations DCU conferred the award of Doctor of Philosophy (Honoris Causa) virtually on Annette Kennedy, President, International Council of Nurses, and on Vivien Lusted of the Irish Red Cross. There were key contributions from Prof Daire Keogh, Dr Martin McAleese, Dr Denise Proudfoot, Dr Daniela Lehwaldt and poet Paula Meehan. We also awarded inspirational nurses and midwives who had been nominated by their peers and members of the public. These included TeresaMcCreery, Helene Murchan and student Muireann Brennan.