Thinking of becoming a Nurse or Midwife?

One easy way to check if you are suitable to Nursing or Midwifery is to take the student Nurse/ Midwife Self - Assessment 
Questionnaire. It is an easy way to establish if your interests, abilities and expectations are a match for a career in either 
Nursing or Midwifery.

Take the quiz at this link: w ww.nmbi.ie/ Careers -in-Nur sing -Midwifery 

Once you have decided if Nursing or Midwifery is for you, you can study to be a Nurse or Midwife at one of the 13 Irish Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) which offer Nursing and Midwifery Degree Programmes. Please see       pp 10-15 of the careers booklet for a list of the 44 programmes available.

The HEIs provide the 44 programmes in the following disciplines:

General Nursing	14 programmes	
Children's & General Nursing (Integrated)	4 programmes	
Psychiatric Nursing	12 programmes	
Intellectual Disability Nursing 	8 Programmes	
Midwifery	6 programmes	

In 2019 – There were 1832 places available on these programmes. Application numbers greatly exceeded places available (5:1). 

For CAO points 2019 please click on the attached link: http://www2.cao.ie/points/l8.php 
                                                       
The NMBI Minimum Entry Requirements 

The criteria for admission to education and training programmes are set out in the Nurses and Midwives (Education and Training) Rules 2018. 

4. (1) A person seeking admission to an education and training programme leading to first time registration in the register of nurses and midwives must -

(a)	have obtained in the Leaving Certificate Examination a minimum of Grade H5 in two papers 
and a minimum of  Grade O6/H7 in four papers in the following subjects:

•	Irish or English;
•	Mathematics;
•	a Laboratory Science Subject (Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Physics and Chemistry or Agricultural Science); 
               and three other subjects,

(b)	have achieved the equivalent minimum educational attainments to those referred to in subparagraph (a), 
                such  equivalent attainments to be adjudicated upon by the third level institution concerned,

                                                                    

     (c)   meet the minimum educational requirements specified by the third level institution concerned for entry to the  
             programme, provided that such requirements are not of a lower standard than those
             set out in subparagraph (a), or

     (d)  in the case of a person who is 23 years of age or over on the first day of January of the year of admission, 
            satisfy, the Board in such manner as may be determined by it of his or her suitability to undertake the programme.

(Note: Foundation Level Mathematics or Foundation Level Irish are not acceptable).
Please note that individual colleges may require additional specific requirements. See pp 57-58 in the careers booklet.

Further Registration Education Opportunities Following Initial Registration

Nursing and Midwifery are life long careers. Once a candidate has successfully completed a pre-registration programme in nursing /midwifery and registered as a nurse or midwife, she/he may wish to pursue further education. Many such opportunities are available and NMBI has approved a number of specialist programmes. For details of NMBI approved courses visit www.nmbi.ie/Education/post-registration-courses. 

There are six post –registration programmes leading to an additional registration with NMBI.
Children's Nursing: Post Registration 	
Midwifery: Post Registration	
Psychiatric Nursing: Post Registration 	
Nursing Tutor	
Public Health Nursing	
Nurse Prescriber	
Advanced Nurse Practitioner and Advanced Midwife Practitioner	

PLEASE NOTE: The programme in children’s nursing is available at both pre-registration (i.e. integrated with general nursing) and at post registration level. 

The midwifery programme and the Psychiatric (Mental Health) Nursing programme are available at both pre-registration level and at post registration level. 

What can I do after I have graduated?

There are over 200 Post Graduate Courses for registered nurses and midwives to further their knowledge in a 
specific field of interest. In addition there are thousands of shorter courses to choose from as part of continuous professional development.  For further information please visit: https://www.nmbi.ie/Education/Short-Courses-Online. 

Need more information? You can email us at c areersinf ormatio n@nmbi.ie .