Archive News 2011
Senior Sophistor Nursing, Midwifery and BNS student posters
These posters were produced in 2011 by final year students studying for the award of Bachelor of Science (nursing), Bachelor of Science (midwifery), Bachelor of Nursing Studies and Bachelor of Midwifery Studies. The posters are based on research proposals which achieved a mark of 83 or more out of 100.
Please see posters on the School's Flickr site
Stroke Clinical Guidelines: "What are the facilitators and barriers for implementation?"
A recent project was completed in the School of Nursing and Midwifery on the process of implementing the Irish National Stroke Guidelines in November. The project was led by Dr Claire Donnellan and coordinated by Susannah Sweetman, PhD candidate, in collaboration with Dr Emer Shelley, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and the Health Service Executive. This work was supported by the Noel Hickey Bursary, Irish Heart Foundation awarded to the research team in June 2010.
The National Stroke Guidelines were developed and launched in Ireland in 2009. Although clinical guidelines have become a standard way of implementing evidence-based practice, there is limited documented evidence of health professionals' perceptions or the rationales they consider influential in implementing stroke guidelines in practice. This project aimed to assess stakeholders and health professionals' perceptions of stroke guidelines. Full participation was received from both Stroke Council members of the Irish Heart Foundation and stroke interdisciplinary teams from hospitals in the South-east, the Midlands and some of the Dublin teaching hospitals.
The project highlighted health professionals' perspectives regarding many key concepts which may affect the implementation of stroke care guidelines such as resources, National Stroke Guidelines as a tool for change, characteristics of the National Stroke Guidelines, advocacy at local level and community stroke care challenges. There were other specific issues identified such as having specialised and dedicated staff and stroke units to manage stroke care effectively, using the guidelines as an audit tool, content related issues with guidelines, appropriate education and training, localised adaptation of guidelines and improving stroke community rehabilitation services.
The introduction of stroke clinical guidelines at a national level may not be sufficient to improve health care quality as they may need to be incorporated in a quality assurance cycle with education programs and feedback from surveys of clinical practice. Further work will continue on the process of implementing stroke guidelines in tandem with other stroke research projects including person-centred approaches and goal attainment in stroke rehabilitation and stroke care pathways. For a PDF copy of the report and further details on this project or other stroke care related projects, contact Dr Claire Donnellan at cdonnel@tcd.ie or phone 353 1 8964109.
Dr Claire Donnellan and Ms Susannah Sweetman
Midwifery Student Awarded an Entrance Exhibitors Award
Orla Donohoe, a Junior Freshman B.Sc. in Midwifery student, was awarded on Wednesday 30th November 2011 an Entrance Exhibitors Award based on the excellent results she achieved in the Leaving Certificate. Orla celebrated this achievement with her parents and school principal.
Entrance exhibitions are awarded to Junior Freshman new entrants on the basis of public examination results. The awards are made to E.U. students who are new entrants to full-time undergraduate degree programmes in College. The award is made for achieving 560 points or higher in the leaving certificate examination and the six subjects which form the basis of the award must be completed at a single sitting.
Each entrance exhibition is in the form of a book prize worth 300 euro, awarded in two equal parts - the first in the Junior Freshman year and the second in the Senior Freshman year.
Orla is the first midwifery student to receive this award.
2011 New Students on the Higher Diploma in Children's Nursing
In September 2011 twelve new students commenced on the Higher Diploma in Children's nursing within the School. They are seen here as they complete the first theoretical component, after which they complete practice placements in children's nursing in this year long programme. All were enjoying the course so far and are looking forward to its successful completion, after which many hope to practise in children's nursing.
Winner and Shortlisted Entrants in National Undergraduate Awards from TCD School of Nursing and Midwifery
The School is delighted to congratulate Katie Hill, BSc (Integrated Children's and General Nursing) on her winning essay in the prestigious 2011 Undergraduate Awards of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Congratulations also to our 7 shortlisted entrants, Karen Kelly and Aifric Rabbitt, BSc (Integrated Children's and General Nursing); Aine Byrne, B.Sc. (Midwifery); and Nora Vallejo, Bachelor in Midwifery Studies; Laura McEntaggart and Anna Michael, BSc (General Nursing; and Sylvia Snowe, Bachelor of Nursing Studies.
Katie submitted an essay in April 2011 for the module Contemporary Issues in Children's Nursing, for which she received an A grade. The topic of Katie's essay was 'Paediatric Palliative Care in Ireland'. Prof Imelda Coyne, module leader, encouraged several students, including Katie, to submit their essays to the Undergraduate Awards of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Katie Hill won the award for best essay for Nursing and Midwifery from all of the submissions from Ireland and seven top universities in the USA. On Friday October 28th 2011 she was awarded an Oscar Wilde Gold medal by the President of Ireland, Mary McAleese at an awards ceremony held in Dublin Castle. Aifric Rabbitt's essay submitted for the same module was recorded as a highly commended entrants 2011.
The Undergraduate Awards was founded in 2008 to inspire students and graduates by supporting and celebrating their ideas. The awards programme is open to all third level institutions on the island of Ireland. Students in their final or penultimate year of a degree course submit essays completed as part of normal coursework. The winners are considered to be Ireland's top students. Katie's essay has been published with the other 22 award winning essays in the Undergraduate Journal of Ireland and Northern Ireland, Vol 3, p328-342., an annual publication which is stocked in every third level institution library in on the island of Ireland.
The School is very proud of these outstanding achievements.
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Joint Trinity and Stewarts Care Ltd Conference Highlights Best Practice in Person-centred Care for People with an Intellectual Disability
Trinity College's Intellectual Disability Nursing Discipline and Stewarts Care Ltd jointly held a conference on Person Centred Practice for People with an Intellectual Disability- An International Perspective at The Great Hall, Stewarts Care Ltd, Palmerstown, Dublin on Monday 21st November 2011. The conference formally launched a collaborative initiative between Trinity College and Stewarts Care Ltd to implement person-centred practice in residential care settings for children and adults with an Intellectual Disability. The 18 month initiative is to be led by Professor Mary McCarron.
Furthermore, the Conference provided service-users, relatives, academics and healthcare professionals, as well as undergraduate and postgraduate students with a unique opportunity to develop their understanding of person-centred practice in facilitating people with an Intellectual Disability to live the life they want to live. Experts also shared the most recent advances in how best to develop and facilitate person centred approaches to care.
The conference was jointly organized by Paul Keenan Assistant Professor and Head of the Discipline of Intellectual Disability Nursing at Trinity College Dublin and Claire Nash, Assistant to the Director of Care Services, Stewarts Care Ltd. The conference was officially opened by Professor Mary McCarron Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, Trinity College Dublin. Paul Horan and Sandra Fleming Assistant Professors, Trinity College Dublin chaired the conference sessions.
Presenters at the conference included Paul Keenan Assistant Professor & Head of the Discipline of Intellectual Disability Nursing, Trinity College Dublin, who proved a comprehensive review of current literature and research on person centred practice; and Dr Colin Griffiths, Assistant Professor, Trinity College Dublin who spoke about the challenges and opportunities for person-centred practice from an Irish Social Policy Context. The Rossecourt Drama Group illustrated the meaning of a person centered approach by performing a thought provoking drama which identified the importance of listening to and taking seriously the views and wishes of the people who use services.
The key note speaker was Professor Errol Cocks Director of the Centre for Research into Disability and Society, at Curtin University, Australia. He is currently Visiting Professor at the National Institute for Intellectual Disabilities in Trinity College Dublin. Professor Cocks shared the invaluable lessons to be learnt from the development over the past forty years of person centered intellectual disability services in Australia. The conference concluded with a balanced analysis of the way forward for services in Ireland by Eddie Denihan, Director of Care in Stewarts Care Ltd.
Professor Errol Cocks Curtin University, Australia.
Launch of the 'Our Say, Our Rights' Artwork
On Wednesday 14th September 2011, more than 130 people with intellectual disabilities and their advocates came together in Trinity College Dublin for the launch of the artwork for the 'Our Say, Our Rights' tapestry on human rights and intellectual disability. This project was organized by IDRights: Human Rights and People with Intellectual Disabilities, a participatory action movement set up in 2008 by Dr. Fintan Sheerin of TCD School of Nursing and Midwifery. The event brought together the work of 147 people with intellectual disabilities, who submitted squares representing what they consider to be the important rights-related dimensions in their lives. This event provided these individuals with an opportunity to have their voices heard and to express what they value and want in their lives in 2011. The event built on the work that was done in the 'Right. Let's Stand Up for Ourselves' events, that were held in Dublin in 2009 and 2010, and in Limerick in 2010.
Whereas there have been significant developments in relation to disability rights over the past years, these have often had little or no direct impacted on the lives of people with intellectual disabilities. Thus, many of the individuals registered on the National Intellectual Disability Database still experience discrimination, inequality and marginalisation at least some time during their lives, whether in relation to specific issues such as education, health, access to public services and employment or to more general issues such as non-inclusion in society In response to such realities, advocacy movements and rights commissions have emerged locally, and have striven to address individuals' and groups' rights, but there has been no cohesive national forum for such endeavours.
The project and in particular the launch provided a platform where the participants were able to air their own voice as experts in their own lives. Dr. Sheerin highlighted the importance of this event as one that "gives a voice to a group of Irish people who are often not heard or, indeed, listened to. In doing so, it celebrates their resilience in the face of adversity and in expressing what they consider important in their lives, demonstrates that they desire the same things as do other members of Irish society - above all, equality, respect and meaning". This work is closely aligned to TCD School of Nursing and Midwifery's commitment to promoting health equality for marginalised groups and, in particular, to Dr. Sheerin's current endeavours to set up a Trinity Centre for Intellectual Disability Rights.
Between World: The Experiences and Needs of Former Family Carers
Launch of a report entitled 'Between World: The Experiences and Needs of Former Family Carers' (McCarron, Breen, Hynes, O'Sullivan and McCallion)
The report was launched by the TCD School of Nursing and Midwifery and Care Alliance Ireland on Thursday 29th September 2011 at 11am. It was funded by the Irish Research Council for the Humanities & Social Sciences (IRCHSS) and Care Alliance Ireland.
Ms Marie Lynch Board Member Care Alliance Ireland, Prof Mary McCarron Head of the School of Nursing TCD and Mr Pat Kelly, Former Family Carer.
20th Roundtable of the IASSID Special Interest Research Group on Ageing with an Intellectual Disability
The 20th Roundtable of the IASSID Special Interest Research Group on Ageing with an Intellectual Disability will be held September 7th and 8th at the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Trinity College Dublin.
The International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual Disabilities (IASSID) is an international, interdisciplinary and scientific non-governmental organization which promotes worldwide research and exchange of information on intellectual disabilities. IASSID has official relations with the World Health Organization.
The Roundtables of the Special Interest Research Group on Ageing with an Intellectual Disability enable leading international researchers to come together to discuss issues and research related to ageing and intellectual disabilities. Many of the Roundtable proceedings have been published as international reports, often in collaboration with national and international organizations including the World Health Organization.
The 20th Roundtable, with its theme of 'Future Directions for Ageing Well: A Roadmap for Ageing in Persons with an Intellectual Disability,' has been specifically organized at the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Trinity College Dublin. This is in recognition both of the criticalness of ageing to the Trinity College Dublin research agenda and of the leading role the School is playing in understanding the ageing of people with an intellectual disability. Led by Professor Mary McCarron, the Intellectual Disability Supplement to The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (IDS-TILDA) is for the first time providing data on adults with intellectual disabilities comparable to data on ageing collected on the general population and is offering insights for policy and service design relevant for both national and international priorities.
On Friday September 9th the School of Nursing and Midwifery will also sponsor a one day conference on the first wave findings of IDS-TILDA.
Picture: Professor Philip McCallion. Professor Christine Bigby, Professor Mary McCarron, Dr. Jennifer Torr
Special Olympics Ireland launches Intellectual Disability education module for volunteers!
Special Olympics Ireland, in conjunction with Trinity College, Dublin launched its Intellectual Disability module of education for volunteers today. The development of this module was led by Paul Keenan, Head of the Intellectual Disability Nursing discipline at the School of Nursing and Midwifery. The team included Carmel Doyle, Sandra Fleming, Colin Griffiths, Paul Horan, Prof Mary McCarron and Dr. Fintan Sheerin.
The module is made up of a set of integrated presentations containing clear and coherent information to enhance the volunteer experience. The information will also enable the volunteers to carry out their roles more effectively thus ensuring a more positive experience for them and the Special Olympics athletes they support. This module is a significant development for Special Olympics Ireland volunteers, particularly as 2011 is the European year of volunteers.
The education module consists of six presentations, which can each be delivered in isolation or as a collection of customised modules.
Presentation Topics include:
- Introduction to Intellectual Disability
- Athlete Health- common diseases and illness
- Communicating with people with Intellectual Disability
- Relationships and sexuality
- Safety, vulnerability, assessing risk and behaviour
- Special Olympics Ireland Professional Ethics In Volunteering
Special Olympics Ireland is delighted to have the involvement of the Intellectual Disability Nursing Discipline at, School of Nursing and Midwifery Trinity College Dublin (TCD), whose theoretical and practical expertise and experience has been invaluable to this project. 16 Special Olympics Ireland volunteers, who have been trained by the staff of the Faculty of Health, School of Nursing and Midwifery TCD, will now deliver these presentations to other volunteers involved in Special Olympics clubs and events throughout the island of Ireland.
Speaking at the announcement Paul Keenan Head of Discipline/ Intellectual Disability Nursing stated “that this is a first for our team of lecturers to work with a charity to develop an education framework to support their stakeholders (athletes and volunteers). We believe that this module of education will assist Special Olympics Ireland in empowering their organisations and improve the quality of volunteering in line with EU objectives for the European Year of Volunteering 2011. We look forward to continuing our work with Special Olympics in the future.
Matt English, CEO Special Olympics Ireland said "This is such an important project and one we are absolutely delighted to roll out. Volunteers are the backbone of the Special Olympics organisation and we want to empower our volunteers to carry out their roles and duties to greatest effect. I would like to acknowledge and thank the staff of the Intellectual Disability Nursing Discipline at the School of Nursing and in Midwifery Trinity College Dublin for their cooperation and expertise in developing this module".
See Change & School of Nursing and Midwifery announce partnership
The School of Nursing & Midwifery has signed up as a partner with See Change - the national mental health stigma reduction programme. A number of meetings have been held between the two organisations and plans are underway for future educational and research initiatives. The School of Nursing & Midwifery looks forward to working in partnership with See Change and assisting them with their goal of eliminating stigma and discrimination for people with mental health problems.
MSc in Dementia - new interdisciplinary programme
The new MSc in Dementia interdisciplinary programme has been developed to meet the on-going educational needs of health and social care personnel who support persons with dementia in a variety of settings. The programme is firmly grounded in a body of knowledge and clinical expertise that aims to promote excellence in the area of dementia care practice. It also aims to promote the development of students' critical and analytical skills in order to improve policy and practice across the continuum of dementia care. The first cohort of students started in September 2010.
The online application process is now open at www.pac.ie. The www.pac.ie application course code is TRS38 for applying to do the course on a part-time basis and TRS39 for doing the programme on a full-time basis. The closing date for applications is in April 2011. Late applications may be considered.
APPLICATIONS NOW OPEN
Children's Palliative Care Modules
An important new inter-disciplinary programme, funded by the Irish Hospice Foundation, will be delivered in the School commencing 20 January 2012. Under the direction of Dr. Honor Nicholl, a project team in the School have developed three standalone Level 9 (10 credit) inter-disciplinary modules in Children's Palliative Care.
The modules are:
- Philosophy, principles and practice of children's palliative care;
- Management of pain and other distressing symptoms;
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Psycho-social and spiritual needs and care of the child and family.
Each module will comprise 30 hours of direct teaching (from experts in the field) and directed study and will be assessed using a range of assessment methods. Theoretical content will be delivered in the School of Nursing and Midwifery over 5 days per module. The programme will be available 2011-2012 in its current format.
APPLICATIONS ARE CURRENTLY BEING PROCESSED AND LATE APPLICATIONS WILL BE CONSIDERED.
All enquiries (and for application details) contact Catherine Tracey at traceyca@tcd.ie
Children's Palliative Care Modules
An important new development in children's palliative care professional education is on the horizon. Under the direction of Dr. Honor Nicholl, a project team in the School of Nursing and Midwifery have developed three Level 9 standalone inter-disciplinary modules in Children's Palliative Care. These modules will commence September 2011. The modules are:
- Philosophy, principles and practice of children's palliative care;
- Management of pain and other distressing symptoms;
- Psycho-social and spiritual needs and care of the child and family.
This is a timely initiative, not least because of the developments which are taking place in the provision of children's palliative care in Ireland, which will require staff who are educated and competent. The programme will be advertised shortly. All enquiries to Ms. Bethan Rees at reesb@tcd.ie
TCD Academic Chairs First All Ireland Childrens Research Network
TCD Academic Chairs First All Ireland Children’s Research Network A new Childrens Research Network for Ireland and Northern Ireland will bring together professionals who produce or use research on children and families across the island of Ireland. Chaired by Professor Catherine Comiskey, Director of Research at Trinity College Dublin's School of Nursing and Midwifery, the Network aims to support a wide range of research, practice and policy professionals to better understand and improve the lives of children and young people. The Children's Research Network will be inclusive, independent, and non-profit and will provide opportunities for its members to share their work and learn from one another.
LGBT Minds Research Project!
LGBT Minds is a research project that aims to explore the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in mainstream mental health services in Ireland. This study is supported by the Gay and Lesbian Equality Network (GLEN) and the HSE. The study is being led by Dr. Eddie McCann, a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the School of Nursing and Midwifery, in collaboration with Professor Agnes Higgins. Ethical approval has been granted by the Research Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Health Sciences in Trinity College Dublin.
Data is being collected using an anonymous survey that can be accessed at www.lgbtminds.ie and then interviewing participants in order to learn more about their experiences and opinions of mental health services. The findings from this study will be used to make recommendations about how to best address the identified mental health service needs of LGBT people in Ireland.
Celebrating the International Day of the Midwife
On May 5th, Irish midwives, together with midwives all over the world celebrated the International Day of the Midwife. Midwives in Dublin walked through the streets of the capital between the three Dublin Maternity Hospitals the Coombe Women and Infants University Hospital, National Maternity Hospital (Holles Street) and The Rotunda. We were honoured to have Bridget Lynch, President of the International Congress of Midwives here in Ireland walking with Midwives in Dublin as part of the celebration on May 5th. The walkers stopped in Trinity College Dublin to hear Bridget Lynch speak on 'Why Irish Midwifery Matters' in the world of international midwifery.
The walk represents the start of a journey that finishes at the Triennial congress of the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) Congress in Durban, South Africa in June 2011. This is a global gathering where 3,000 midwives will come together to highlight global inequalities in maternal mortality and to demonstrate the differences that midwives make. According to the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM), over 340,000 women and over 5 million infants around the world die each year as a result of preventable pregnancy and childbirth complications.
School of Nursing and Midwifery awarded the National Consultation project for Irish Children.
Prof. Imelda Coyne, Director of Children’s Nursing Research and Prof. Catherine Comiskey Director of Research have been awarded funding by the Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs (OMCYA) to conduct the National Consultation with Children and Young People on a New National Children’s Strategy (2011). The National Children’s Strategy was commissioned by the Department of Health and Children in 2000 and has guided children’s policies and services in Ireland for the last ten years. During the original consultation process children expressed a wish to be consulted on all issues that affect their lives directly. Therefore Prof. Coyne, Prof. Comiskey and their team will ensure that children’s views are central to the current consultation process for the new five-year National Children’s Strategy.
The consultation process will involve distributing questionnaires to all primary and second level schools in Ireland, inviting children and young people to give their views on being a child in Ireland. A random sample of schools will be selected for follow up targeting children and young people from all social and cultural backgrounds, geographical locations and levels of disadvantage. Data from the random sample will be analysed to ascertain views of children and young people on issues that affect them.
Full participation of children and young people in the consultation process will ensure their views on issues that affect them will be known and will be used to inform the new National Children’s Strategy.
Visit to School by Trinity Access Students
The Trinity Access Programme (TAP) hosted its annual Secondary School Summer Programme from Monday, 20th June to Friday, 24th June. During the week, 60 fifth year students from designated disadvantaged schools in Dublin participated in a range of academic, sporting and cultural activities in College. The aim of the programme was to give students from communities with low progression rates to higher education a practical insight into student life in College and to encourage them to consider degree options in TCD.
For the past ten years TAP has relied on the expertise of College staff and postgraduate students to organise activities for the participants. Last year over 20 Departments were involved in the programme, organising a range of diverse activities.
This year Dr Honor Nicholl, Sinead Buckley and Carole King, all from the discipline of children's nursing, hosted a TAP event in the School of Nursing and Midwifery on 22nd June.
The lively session was focused on children's nursing, recruitment into the discipline and the role of the children's nurse. Eighteen students attended and there was s significant level of interest in the role of the children's nurse, what this role entailed and the wide variety of career opportunities available to Registered Children's Nurses.
Feedback after the event indicated its potential success-Grace Edge, the Recruitment Guidance Co-ordinator reported that we had quite a few converts to Nursing by the end of the week!
SCAPE final report published.
The SCAPE final report, an Evaluation of Clinical Nurse and Midwife Specialist and Advanced Nurse and Midwife Practitioner Roles in Ireland, has been published by the National Council for the Professional Development of Nursing and Midwifery. The final report is available as a pdf download (9.6Mb).
Dean of Students' Roll of Honour 2011-Nursing and Midwifery
Eight students from the School of Nursing and Midwifery were included on the inaugural Dean of Students' Roll of Honour. The Dean of Students' Roll of Honour serves to recognise the learning gained by students outside the classroom through extra-curricular voluntary activity. This initiative aims to fulfil college's commitment within the Strategic Plan 2009-2014 to implement a certification system to acknowledge students' civic engagement, both within the College community and outside the College environment (p.31). The inauguration of the Roll of Honour also coincides with the European Year of Volunteering 2011.
On April 7th, three hundred and eighty five students who engage in extra-curricular voluntary activity were recognised at the inaugural Dean of Students' Roll of Honour ceremony in the Dining Hall. For further information on the Roll of Honour, and to read the address made at the ceremony by Dr Martin McAleese, M.A. (1984).
School students and staff elected as Scholars and Fellow of Trinity College Dublin
Shauna Delaney, Children's and General Nursing (B.Sc.); Laura Holly and Catherine Bernadette Long, General Nursing (B.Sc.); Sophie Carolyn Clare Midwifery (B.Sc.); and Niamh Rosemary Murphy, Psychiatric Nursing (B.Sc.), were all elected as Scholars of Trinity College Dublin. Scholars are students who have demonstrated exceptional knowledge and understanding of their subjects and are elected annually in various subjects as the result of an examination held in the week before the start of Hilary term.
Prof. Mary McCarron, Head of the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Trinity College Dublin, was elected as a Fellow of Trinity College Dublin. Research achievement or scholarship of a high order is the primary qualification for Fellowship, along with evidence of the candidate's contribution to the academic life of the College and effective record of teaching. Prof McCarron is an internationally recognised researcher on quality of life and care in the areas of intellectual disability, ageing, chronic illness, dementia, and palliative care .
A First for Children’s Nursing!
Tuesday 15th February 2011 was a great day for children's nursing in Ireland (and in TCD) as it was the first time a cohort of children's nurses completed an undergraduate degree programme allowing them to proceed to register as a Children's Nurse with An Bord Altranais. As they completed a Children’s and General integrated programme these are the first students to graduate with both Children’s and General Nursing qualifications.
This is the first step in an enormous change for children's nurses and everyone involved is to be congratulated for their contribution to this really welcome development. This is important for the care of sick children in a time of huge change (and opportunity) and will enhance the research, clinical and management profile for the discipline.
Well done to all involved and congratulations to our graduates!
In a further Children’s Nursing development, we are in the final phases of approval of a new MSc in Nursing (Child health).
Mental Health: An Open Lecture by Robert Whitaker: 26th February 2011
Renowned Pulitzer Prize nominee, medical author and journalist Robert Whitaker addressed a capacity audience at Edmund Burke Hall, Trinity College Dublin in an Open Lecture on Mental Health held on Saturday, February 26th 2011. The lecture was organised by the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin in conjunction with the Irish Network of Critical Voices in Mental Healh and the Irish Institute of Mental Health Nursing.
In his lecture entitled 'Anatomy of an Epidemic: Is the bio-psychiatric approach causing an epidemic of psychiatric disorders?' Robert Whitaker asked the question “Why has the number of psychiatric diagnoses given to adults and children skyrocketed over the past 50 years? Why does this epidemic parallel so closely the growth and dominance of psychiatric drugs as treatment?” In his lecture Robert Whitaker explored a history of science and medicine that raised a heretical question: Could this drug-based approach actually be fuelling this modern-day plague? He argued that we need to start an open conversation about how to stem the epidemic of disabling mental distress in society and move to an approach that helps people get well and stay well over the long term.
(L to R) Dr Harry Gijbels (School of Nursing and Midwifery, UCC); Professor Colm O'Morain (Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, TCD); Robert Whitaker; Professor Agnes Higgins (School of Nursing and Midwifery, TCD); Doug Ross (Irish Network of Critical Voices in Mental Health)
(L to R) Professor Mary McCarron (Head of the School of Nursing and Midwifery, TCD) ; Professor Colm O'Morain (Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, TCD); Robert Whitaker and Professor Agnes Higgins (School of Nursing and Midwifery, TCD)
Student Awards 2009-10
Each year the School of Nursing & Midwifery, TCD recognises the academic achievement of students who have reached the highest mark in their relevant programme following the annual examinations. This year the Head of School Professor Mary McCarron presented a number of awards to these students.
School of Nursing and Midwifery awarded the National Consultation project for Irish Children.
Prof. Imelda Coyne, Director of Children’s Nursing Research and Prof. Catherine Comiskey Director of Research have been awarded funding by the Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs (OMCYA) to conduct the National Consultation with Children and Young People on a New National Children’s Strategy (2011). The National Children’s Strategy was commissioned by the Department of Health and Children in 2000 and has guided children’s policies and services in Ireland for the last ten years. During the original consultation process children expressed a wish to be consulted on all issues that affect their lives directly. Therefore Prof. Coyne, Prof. Comiskey and their team will ensure that children’s views are central to the current consultation process for the new five-year National Children’s Strategy.
The consultation process will involve distributing questionnaires to all primary and second level schools in Ireland, inviting children and young people to give their views on being a child in Ireland. A random sample of schools will be selected for follow up targeting children and young people from all social and cultural backgrounds, geographical locations and levels of disadvantage. Data from the random sample will be analysed to ascertain views of children and young people on issues that affect them.
Full participation of children and young people in the consultation process will ensure their views on issues that affect them will be known and will be used to inform the new National Children’s Strategy.