Nursing in Leadership & Quality Healthcare - Athlone

The Postgraduate Diploma in Nursing in Leadership and Quality Healthcare programme is aimed at graduate nurses who wish to advance their academic and professional development. The nursing profession is dynamic and evolving with societal needs and care needs of individuals, families and communities. Nurses are challenged by the sophistication of technological, medical and social advancement and with the ever-increasing divergence in social inequalities, presenting nursing with a new agenda for transformation. The Postgraduate Diploma in Nursing in Leadership and Quality Healthcare programme provides the nurse with a broad-based educational experience to practise at a higher level incorporating key concepts such as clinical decision-making, professional leadership, evidence-based practice, professional ethics, research knowledge and skills.



Upon successful completion of this programme, graduates will have developed a mastery of complex and specialised knowledge and a critical awareness of issues at the forefront of nursing. They will have an advanced understanding of how techniques of enquiry enable the critical and objective analysis, interpretation and application of research and scholarly evidence. Graduates are ideally placed to progress to Masters level studies.

Semester 1

Nursing in a Modern Health System Credits: 10

Research Methods in Healthcare Credits: 10

Clinical Leadership and Management Credits: 10



Semester 2

Quality Initiatives and Outcomes Credits: 10

Professional, Legal and Ethical Issues in Nursing Credits: 10

Application of Evidence to the Healthcare Setting Credits: 10

A Bachelor of Science in Nursing (Level 8, H2:1 or higher) or equivalent qualification will be required for entry to this programme. In line with University Guidelines students, prior learning may also be recognised including: prior experiential (non-certified) and accredited (certified) learning.

1 year full-time, part-time.

Further Study

This course will enable graduates the opportunity to complete the Level 9 MSc in Nursing in Leadership and Quality Healthcare as a pathway to Level 10 PhD/Doctoratal programmes in national and international universities.



Career Opportunities

Graduates from this Postgraduate Diploma in Nursing in Leadership and Quality Healthcare have the potential for employment in multiple domains of practice. There are numerous areas for career advancement, both nationally and internationally, with Postgraduate level attainment identified as an essential requirement for career progression and promotion in administrative and clinical managerial posts.