The Department of Nursing & Midwifery in conjunction with the DkIT Careers & Employability Centre hosted their first dedicated Careers Day for their Nursing & Midwifery Final Year students. Students were provided with a jam-packed day of career advice, employer insights, job opportunities, alumni talks and postgraduate study options. Students were encouraged to use the day as a break away from their heavy academic workloads and a time to reflect on their personal career path and consider the wide range of opportunities available to them, and how to best prepare for their future as Nursing and Midwifery graduates.

The Day was made up of 4 distinct sessions and commenced with a Careers Workshop delivered by the DkIT Careers & Employability Centre focussing on CVs, LinkedIn and Competency Based Interviews. This was followed by Discipline Specific seminars with employers, recent graduates and research students in the field. In the afternoon, the Nursing & Midwifery Planning & Development Unit of the HSE, delivered an insightful session introducing Career Development within the HSE and the day culminated in a Careers Fair with Employers for each discipline.

With employer representatives from across the four disciplines General Nursing, Intellectual Disability Nursing, Mental Health Nursing and Midwifery the Muirhevna Building in DkIT was a hive of activity. Some of the employers  who attended on the day included Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Cavan General Hospital, Letterkenny Maternity Unit, Beaumont Hospital, HSE Older Person Services, HSE Disability Services Louth Meath and Cavan Monaghan, HSE Public Health services, St Patrick’s Mental Health Services, Louth Meath and Cavan Monaghan Mental Health Services, National Forensic Services, SJOG services, Praxis Care, Talbot Group, St. Michaels House and the Peter McVerry Trust.

Dr Myles Hackett, Head of Nursing, Midwifery & Early Years, was delighted with the success of the day, he said

“This first nursing and midwifery careers day for Year 4 students was a great success.  Students had an opportunity to attend talks from the DkIT Careers and Employability Office, meet graduates of the DkIT nursing and midwifery programmes, hear from clinical experts and meet with representatives from a variety of healthcare providers.  The students were very excited to hear about the opportunities available to them when they complete their studies in DkIT and begin their careers as registered nurses and midwives”.

Myles thanked Programme Directors Dr Briege King, Dr. Anita Byrne, Dr. Aine McHugh and Joe Treacy for their leading role in creating the day.

Catherine Staunton, Head of Careers & Employability, was excited to work alongside her colleague Claire Fallon, Employability Advisor to bring a dedicated Careers Day to the DkIT Nursing & Midwifery students, Catherine added,

“As expected, the Nursing & Midwifery final year students approached the day as true professionals, they engaged fully, posed insightful questions and took the opportunity to learn as much as possible from employers and DkIT alumni.”