Nursing & Midwifery - Nurse / Midwife Prescribing

Why study nursing and midwifery at RCSI Dublin?
Educating future leaders in healthcare delivery and related research is at the core of the mission of the RCSI School of Nursing & Midwifery. The School aims to develop caring, reflective nursing and midwifery practitioners who can seek out and use research-based knowledge to improve patient care.

We are committed to providing students with outcome-focused curricula shaped by innovative teaching and learning practices. We have a long association with postgraduate nursing and midwifery education and are the largest such school in Ireland.

We aspire to become recognised leaders in the provision of health sciences education, both nationally and internationally. The suite of programmes we offer nurses and midwives in pursuit of postgraduate education is continually evolving in response to the needs within the healthcare service.

Our goal is to empower nurses and midwives to be able to demonstrate the difference they make to practice, and in doing so, to be able to respond accordingly to the leadership and professional challenges that they face every day.

Course Details
The Postgraduate Certificate in Nurse/Midwife Prescribing at RCSI is the first of its kind in Ireland –we have educated over 700 prescribers since the programme's inception in 2007 – and offers appropriately qualified nurses and midwives the opportunity to enhance the care they provide to patients, clients and service users through the use of their prescriptive authority.

The fully accredited six-month part-time programme prepares nurses and midwives, from an education perspective, to prescribe medicines within their scope of practice.

It is offered to all nurses and midwives who meet the entry criteria and have the support of their employer and a designated medical mentor irrespective of their clinical grade or area of clinical practice.

Many nurses and midwives who having undertaken this programme continue their postgraduate education to postgraduate diploma and masters level, preparing them for specialist or advanced practice roles.

Modules
The programme modules are:
Module name Credits Assessment method
• Professional Accountability in Nurse Midwife Prescribing 10 Assignment and a draft collaborative practice agreement

• Pharmacology and Prescribing Science 10 Examination

• Systematic Assessment & Evaluation in Patient Care 10 Clinical assessment and competency booklet

To be eligible for the programme you must:
• Be registered as a nurse or midwife on the Active Register of An Bord Altranais.

• currently be employed as a nurse or midwife.

• Have a minimum of three years post-registration clinical experience (within the past five years) with at least one year in the area in which prescribing is proposed.

• Have competencies recognised at Level 8 of the NQAI Framework.

• Demonstrate continuous professional development and the ability to study at Level 8.

• Have the support of your employer to undertake programme.

• Have the nomination and confirmation of a designated medical practitioner mentor.

How to apply
Applications for the 2024 intake of the programme are now open.

To apply, complete the following steps:
1. Submit an online application.

2. Complete and return the Site Declaration Form (see website).

3. Complete and return the Audit of Compliance (see website).

Please note:
- Failure to complete all three steps will result in an incomplete application form and you will not be considered for entry to the programme.

- During your application you will be asked to upload your transcripts.

Applications will close on Friday. 30th June 2023, or sooner if places are filled, so we advise you to apply as early as possible to avoid disappointment.

One academic semester part-time.

Beginning in January 2021