Nursing - Public Health Nursing

Your Course
Candidates registering for this programme will be given the opportunity to develop valuable knowledge and skills in the areas of primary healthcare, health promotion, leadership and community nursing leading to registration on the Public Health Nursing division of the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI) register.

Year One is full-time and currently sponsored by the Health Service Executive (HSE). On successful completion of Year One students may opt out of the programme and will be awarded a Postgraduate Diploma in Health Sciences (Public Health Nursing).

Those who choose to continue to Year Two may do so providing they have 60% aggregate mark of modules undertaken in year one. Year Two is part-time and successful completion leads to a Master's of Health Sciences (Public Health Nursing). Year Two of this programme is offered by the School of Nursing and Midwifery, NUI Galway, and is not sponsored by the HSE.

Minimum Entry Requirements
1. Be registered in the General Nursing Division of the Register of Nurses maintained by the NMBI or entitled to be so registered AND have a minimum of three years' post-registration general nursing experience; OR

2. Be registered in the General Nursing Division and another Division of the Register, including Registered Midwife (RM), Registered Children's Nurse (RCN), Registered Nurse Intellectual Disability (RNID) or Registered Psychiatric Nurse (RPN) divisions of the Register of Nurses and Midwives maintained by the NMBI or entitled to be so registered; AND have a minimum of 18 months post-registration general nursing experience as an RGN, and 18 months post-registration experience as an RM or RCN or RNID or RPN; AND

3. Meet the academic criteria set by the relevant Higher Education Institute (HEI); hold an NQAI Level 8 honours degree or proof of equivalency or NFQ Level 8 Higher Diploma or a NFQ Level 9 award. The academic transcript provided will be used as evidence to demonstrate this, and it should be for the highest level award;

4. Applicants whose first language or primary language of expression is not English must provide evidence that their English language ability meets the required standard for admission: minimum required score is 6.5 on the IELTS test.

1 year, full-time (for Year One of programme); 1 year, part-time (for Year Two of programme).

Career Opportunities
Graduates have the opportunity to register in the Public Health Nursing division of the NMBI register and will gain employment as a Public Health Nurse (PHN) with the HSE. Completion to MSc level will increase their opportunities for career advancement within the PHN service as this provides eligibility requirements for managerial roles.