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HRB invests €300,000 in clinical research nursing and midwifery project
The funding will support research to define the skill mixes and career pathways necessary to attract and retain highly-skilled clinical research nurses and midwives in Ireland.
This research will identify the core roles and competencies of clinical research nurses and midwives and develop national job description criteria for these highly specialised healthcare professionals. It will also enable the Irish Research Nurses and Midwives (IRNM) to examine in detail the current roles and responsibilities of clinical research nurses and midwives (CRNMs), their associated professional knowledge, competencies and skills, and compare how these align to established nursing grades.
“This award is part of our strategic objective to build a strong and supportive environment for health research in Ireland,” says Dr Mairéad O’Driscoll, Chief Executive at the HRB
“The HRB recognises that research nurses and midwives are a crucial component in the day-to-day running of clinical trials. This research will ultimately help us to increase the talent pool of skilled, motivated healthcare professionals that are required to conduct clinical trials to the highest standards of quality, ethics and governance.”
Ms Deirdre Hyland, Director of Research Nurse Education in the RCSI Clinical Research Centre in Beaumont Hospital, and a founding member of the Irish Research Nurses and Midwives (IRNM) said,
“Our goal is to standardise new job descriptions for these specialist roles and identify competencies and skill mixes from new, novice entrants all the way up to advanced practitioners. This work will help to advance the professional development of clinical research nurses and midwives and address a key challenge in the clinical health research ecosystem in Ireland.”
ENDS
About the IRNM
Irish Research Nurses and Midwives was established in 2008 to support the educational and professional needs of Clinical Research Nurses in Ireland. The HRB has been funding it since 2018, with the policy support of the Chief Nurse Officer in the Department of Health. Visit the IRNM website.
Read our blog, ‘A day in the life of a research nurse’ with IRNM Working Group Member, June Considine.