NursingStory

DCU issues final call for nominations for Ireland’s most inspirational nurse or midwife

Closing date for nominations is May 3rd and awards will be presented at upcoming international event

Dublin City University has issued a final call for nominations for Ireland’s most inspirational nurse or midwife who will be acknowledged at an international nursing celebration event taking place virtually at DCU on May 7th.

The initiative, launched earlier this month in advance of the International Day of the Midwife (May 5th) and Nurse (May 12th) by DCU’s School of Nursing, Psychotherapy and Community Health is calling on members of the public and those who work in a healthcare setting to nominate a nurse or midwife whom they feel is deserving of the title of "Ireland’s most inspirational" nurse or midwife. 

Nominations can be made online through this link and the closing date for nominations is May 3rd.

The awards are a timely opportunity to celebrate the work of nurses and midwives whose contributions have been immense in the gruelling fight against COVID-19 as hospitals and healthcare settings faced enormous pressure.

The recipients will be honoured at the upcoming nursing event ‘Glocalisation in Healthcare - Nurses and Midwives thinking globally and acting locally to drive the policy and educational agenda’, organised and hosted by DCU’s School of Nursing, Psychotherapy and Community Health. 

This event is seen as a ‘celebration’ of nursing and midwifery and will feature contributors from across the world who will examine the idea of “glocal” - where global developments impact on the local and in turn the local responses impact globally. 

The importance of empowering nurses and midwives to enhance and scale up their learnings and their role in eradicating western style pandemics will form a key talking point.

The one-day event will be opened by the Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly and includes a wide range of speakers - Tanya King, Deputy Chief Nursing Officer, Department of Health; Mary Brosnan, Director of Midwifery National Maternity Hospital Dublin; international contributors such as Elaine Brennan (Northwell Health, New York); Joanne Shear, formerly of the US Veterans Health Association and consultant for the World Bank Group and Harvard School of Public Health; Jingwei Liu, President of Maple Primary Care Transformation Research Center along with leading academics from DCU’s School of Nursing, Psychotherapy and Community Health.

Head of the School of Nursing, Psychotherapy and Community Health, Dr Mary Rose Sweeney said, 

“The event is an opportunity to celebrate the work of nurses and midwives, to reflect on their impact globally, and to share learnings from different global perspectives to inform their future direction.”

Dr Susan Kent commented, 

“The International day of the Midwife and Nurse are annual global celebrations that acknowledge the professionals in both fields of healthcare and the impact of their work in response to population needs. 

It is now evidential that the shortage of these professionals will impact greatly on the delivery of national and international healthcare reform. This event particularly focuses on the impact of the nurse and midwife in responding to population needs and the implementation of health reform. The awards for inspirational midwife and nurse make visible those individuals who inspire others within the professions.”