20 Years of Nursing Education in Letterkenny
This year, 2022, marks a significant celebration for the Department of Nursing and Health Care at LYIT, as it celebrates 20 years of delivering nursing programmes since its transition from the School of Nursing, at St Conal’s Campus, Letterkenny in 2002. This is a very important milestone for LYIT, as it also embarks on becoming Atlantic Technological University (ATU) on Friday 1st April 2022.
The past 20 years of the Department of Nursing and Health Care has experienced an incredible journey, having expanded from offering nursing programmes only to the inclusion of early education and health and social care programmes since 2009. Due to its growth and expanded numbers, it was part of a restructuring process in April 2021.
Over the past 20 years it is estimated that Letterkenny has produced approximately 1,500 nursing graduates in three nursing disciplines: General, Mental Health, and Intellectual Disability nursing. The Department pride its successes in their partnership collaborative approach which makes an enormous contribution in producing highly qualified, fit for purpose nursing graduates. LYIT Nursing graduates are in high demand locally, nationally and internationally. Although most of the LYIT Nursing graduates stay on to work in Donegal and Northwest region of Ireland beyond graduation. The Department of Nursing and Health Care’s unwavering focus is to deliver high quality graduates who can deliver high quality evidenced based nursing care.
Head of Department, Dr Louise McBride says, “This year, the department of Nursing and Health Care has reached a very significant milestone, as we celebrate two decades of producing and championing high quality of graduates for our Donegal catchment and Northwest region. Over the past two decades we have worked closely and in direct partnership with the HSE, LUH Saolta group, Donegal and Sligo Leitrim MH Services and Donegal ID Services.
Our HSE partners have ensured provision of clinical learning placements in accordance with the regulatory professional body, Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI) Standards and Requirements for pre-registration nursing programmes. This partnership is paramount to our nursing programmes. Since 2002, LYIT must be revalidated by the NMBI every five years which essentially rubber stamps our commitment to meeting the standards and requirement for nursing education programmes. We are currently preparing of our 5 year Programmatic Review and NMBI inspection at the end of the month.
It’s important to acknowledge and recognise all our nursing staff at LYIT and HSE, through their individual and collective work both on campus and in the clinical learning setting, that contributes to fulfilment of our nurse education programmes. I want to congratulate and acknowledge past, present and future staff and students of the Department, our Alumni and HSE partners who contribute to the continued success of the Department of Nursing and Health Care. This really is a joint approach of partnership and collaboration in nurse education”.
Key aspects of its success over the past 20 years includes its dedicated staff, HSE clinical partnership, and our student and graduates:
➢ Dedicated Staff: We are fortunate to have such experienced academic staff and exceptional student support services who strive in realising individual strengths in students as learners, fostering and nurturing their learning needs from first year to final year as they progress from novice to expert nurses. It is through their passion in facilitating learning and continuously raising the bar that we can provide such high quality education nursing graduates.
➢ HSE Clinical Partner: Clinical placements are paramount and the cornerstone of our curriculum, and it important to us that are partners are reassured and confident that our nursing students are fit for practice and purpose when they attend placements to ensure patients/persons/clients receive the very best of nursing care.
➢ Students and Graduates: Special acknowledgment and thanks to our students and graduates for choosing LYIT and studying with us. We have such wonderful LYIT, and nursing ambassadors who are exemplary in terms of their professionalism and trajectories after graduation. We are very proud of their achievements and contribution to the nursing profession. Particularly during the COVID19 pandemic when they rose the many challenges displaying compassion, agility and resilience.
It’s fair to say, we have accomplished so much over the past twenty years and look forward to a new chapter as a university, where we are committed to becoming a centre of excellence in the Northwest in terms of high calibre sought after nursing graduates and postgraduates. The past 20 years have really been an incredible journey, as we embark on another exciting chapter ahead, as Atlantic Technological University.