title: Education of children's nurses in Ireland: an update.
abstract: The first teaching hospital for sick children in Great Britain and Ireland opened in Dublin in 1821. From then, the development of sick children's nursing in Ireland followed a similar path to that in many other countries until a national report in 2000 recognised that post-registration pathways alone were unlikely to meet future health service needs for suitably qualified and flexible children's nurses. In 2006, a four-and-a-half-year integrated children's and general nursing pre-registration degree programme started on four sites. At the same time, the existing 18-month post-registration course was replaced with an accelerated one-year diploma programme. The full integration of children's nursing into third level at both pre- and post-registration level was a welcome development in Ireland. Further work is under way to address the remaining educational challenges: post-graduate and doctoral programmes, preparation of advanced nurse practitioners and continuing professional education for qualified children's nurses.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing and Midwifery, Trinity College, University of Dublin.
authors.forename: Carmel
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Doyle
authors.forename: Maryanne
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Murphy
authors.forename: Thelma
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Begley
authors.forename: Carole B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: King
mesh_terms: D002568:Certification / Q000458:organization & administration; D003479:Curriculum / Q000639:trends; D004508:Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004509:Education, Nursing, Continuing / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004510:Education, Nursing, Diploma Programs / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004511:Education, Nursing, Graduate / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005544:Forecasting; D007494:Ireland; D008008:Licensure, Nursing; D017145:Models, Educational; D020380:Needs Assessment; D015402:Nursing Education Research; D009936:Organizational Innovation; D010371:Pediatric Nursing / Q000193:education* / Q000458:organization & administration; D010561:Personnel Staffing and Scheduling / Q000458:organization & administration; D012042:Registries; D013997:Time Factors