What is a Nurse?

The role of the nurse is to provide evidence-based, culturally-sensitive care in order to assist the individual to lead an independent healthy lifestyle, overcome ill health or experience a peaceful death. The nurse achieves this through working as part of a professional multidisciplinary team to provide primary healthcare, acute hospital care, community and home and continuing care, based on individual and population health needs across the lifespan.

 

Students of nursing learn about caring and the complexities of health and illness through interactive teaching and learning strategies in the classroom and the healthcare environment. Practice (clinical and community) experience provides the student with opportunities to integrate the art and science of nursing and promotes the development of caring relationships with patients and their families and significant others.

 

Nursing practice, rooted in compassion, draws upon extensive knowledge and experience to provide physical and psychological care of the highest quality. Nurses take centre stage in ensuring efficient and effective delivery of accessible, integrated and consumer-driven healthcare, creatively designing health related services, and ensure quality through advocacy, policy-making, service management, education and research.

 

The four-year nursing courses (the Children’s and General Integrated stream lasts for 4.5 years) are offered in partnership with six health service providers. Trinity’s linked health service providers for this course are:

• Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) at Tallaght
• St. James’s Hospital