Specialist Practice - Perioperative

Course Overview

Professional nursing in the perioperative department requires specialist knowledge, along with clinical and technical expertise and interpersonal skills, in order to provide comprehensive, physical, emotional and spiritual support to the patient during surgical intervention.



Is This Course For Me?

This course is designed for nurses working in clinical practice who wish to develop their knowledge and competency in perioperative. There is a flexible approach where you can study between 1-3 years to complete an M.Sc. Specialist Nursing.



The blended approach to course delivery is designed for busy professionals to learn, with carefully planned assessment schedules, and supportive academic and clinical facilitators to guide you in your learning.



Course Structure

The course is offered on a two-year part-time basis. Year One starts with a full week of studying in September and continues thereafter one day per week for the remainder of the year. Year Two consists of workshops throughout the academic year.



As part of this course students will be facilitated to undertake one of the following advanced strands: Surgical; Anaesthetic/ Recovery; Paediatric (please note that the paediatric stand is only available in conjunction with AMNCH).



To undertake these strands, the applicants must specifically have experience in the chosen strand e.g. paediatric, theatre/surgical or anaesthetic/recovery in the past two years. Each student who successfully achieves the academic and clinical requirements in Year One will be awarded a P.Grad.Dip. in Specialist Nursing (Perioperative) and students who continue into and successfully complete year two will be awarded a M.Sc. in Specialist Nursing.



This course maintains a very strong emphasis on the practical skills necessary to enable nurses to care for patients in a holistic way. The learning opportunities offered by this course are designed to integrate the many facets of patient management during anaesthetic/recovery and surgical procedures. Through supervised clinical practice and appropriate academic input, the student develops responsibility for holistic patient care and personal accountability.

In Year One, students take four specialist modules: Principles of Perioperative Nursing; Nursing Management of the Perioperative Patient; Perioperative Department Management; Supervised, Practice Placement (Peri-op). Students also take two core modules: Theory & Practice of Enquiry Methods for Healthcare; Leadership, Quality Improvement and Governance.



In Year Two, students must complete a dissertation.

Admission Requirements Specialist Nursing strands:

Admission to the strand will be subject to place availability. The entry criteria for this strand are:

• Current registration on the appropriate nursing division of the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland Active Register

• Two years post-registration clinical experience since first registration

• Twelve months experience (within the last two years) in the specialty in Ireland at the time of application.



Candidates must also fulfil one of the following criteria:

• An honours degree in nursing or a related discipline or equivalent professional and academic qualification or satisfy the selection committee that they have the academic ability to successfully complete the programme.



Each student will be engaged in specific practice settings in Ireland relevant to each individual strand for the duration of the programme of study.



Additional criteria may be required by individual Health Service Providers

Students will be required to undergo Garda Vetting, you can learn more at: https://www.tcd.ie/students/orientation/postgraduates/garda-vetting.php

Closing Date: 30th June 2025

1 year part-time

Next Intake: September 2025

Career Opportunities

Designed to enable registered nurses to increase their knowledge, experience and clinical skills within this chosen specialty, this course prepares the perioperative nurse to function as a competent, effective and caring specialist nurse.