There are currently more than 65,000 registered nurses and midwives who are practising in Ireland.
The world, and specifically Ireland, needs passionate and dedicated healthcare workers. If you think you have what it takes, we encourage you to consider nursing as a career.
Are you trying to choose the best career path? Do you want a reliable income and the opportunity to grow?
Keep reading to learn the benefits of nursing as a career and how to become a nurse.
The Benefits of Nursing
There are pros and cons to weigh in each career choice available to you. However, in the case of nursing, the list of pros is extensive. Here are a few specific benefits of choosing nursing as a career.
Helping People
One of the major benefits of choosing nursing as a career is the fact that you spend your time helping people. Nurses help heal the sick and injured, but they also help people emotionally.
Nurses are able to connect to their patients on an intimate level because they often enter their lives during vulnerable and challenging moments like injuries, illnesses, and even the birth of a child.
They provide kind words and empathy when their patients and their patients’ families need them most. They offer shoulders to cry on and hands to hold when life is hard.
Providing care for people every day physically and emotionally is a rewarding experience for nurses.
Making a Real Difference in the World
Another benefit of nursing as a career choice is that you make a difference in the world every day. Each time you step into work, there are new patients, new problems, and new solutions to create.
The impact you make as a nurse is tangible. In many situations, you get to see the change unfold in front of you when you help treat people or help ease their pain.
Making a meaningful difference in people’s lives is a concept unique to nursing, and you would not find the same kind of opportunity at an office job in a different field.
Learning Useful and Transferable Skills
Choosing nursing as a career means that you will undergo different training and schooling to become a nurse registered by the Nursing & Midwifery Board of Ireland.
As you learn and complete the requirements to be a nurse, you gain valuable skill sets that are useful in many aspects of life.
Through your training, you not only learn about medical practices, but you also learn skills such as the following:
- Teamwork from working with other nurses and healthcare professionals to provide quality care
- Communication from needing to relay information efficiently from patients to the doctors
- Organizational and planning skills from learning how to best care for the patients you have been assigned
- Sympathy and empathy from supporting your patients and their families through difficult times
- The ability to adapt from overcoming the new challenges and solving the new problems you encounter each day
- Flexibility from learning that people make mistakes and that things do not always go the way you think they should
- Analytical thinking and research skills from learning new ways to serve your patients better
These skills will help shape you into a more well-rounded individual.
Steady Income and Competitive Pay Rates
Another benefit of nursing as a career choice is that you will make a stable income at competitive and increasing pay rates.
Currently, nurses in Ireland make €35,000-€40,000 annually. Pay rates are based on how long you have been a nurse and what positions you hold, and they increase with every year dedicated to nursing.
Salary can also depend on the location of your work.
There are also options to increase your income by picking up more shifts than you are scheduled to work.
There will always be a demand for nurses in Ireland’s health care system, so you will be able to easily find and keep a position as a nurse.
The Quality and Quantity of Benefits
In addition to a salary, a benefit of nursing as a career choice is the quality and amount of benefits that come with the position.
Nurses are entitled to benefits such as substantial annual holiday and generous leave allotment for public holidays.
When nurses in Ireland retire, they are awarded a substantial pension for their contributions and work in public service.
Nurses also can claim significant tax relief. They can claim flat-rate employment expenses, which will help cover the cost of the clothing and other equipment needed for you to do your job. They can even claim the laundering of their work clothes.
As a nurse, you are also eligible for tax back on tuition fees, dental and medical fees, and marriage tax relief if you are married.
Variety of Positions
Another great benefit of nursing as a career choice is the number of different opportunities available to you.
With a career as a nurse, you basically have your pick of which job you want to do. You can be a staff nurse, a practice nurse, a triage nurse, a midwife, and many others.
You can also work outside of a hospital if you want. Nurses can work in urgent care centres, rural medicine positions, corporate medicine positions, and primary care positions.
You can even work as a prison nurse in the Irish prison system.
As a nurse through the NMBI, you can also work in fields that are related to nursing, like research, education, and mentorship.
Educational Advancement
Nurses in Ireland also benefit from funding for continuing personal development.
This means that you as a nurse working for the HSE can apply for financial support to cover academic program fees.
The academic programs covered by this funding include formal and short programs.
Short programs are usually six days or less and include conferences, short online programs and courses, educational workshops, and personal study days.
Formal programs must have a level six accreditation from the National Framework of Qualifications.
They also must meet the need of the organization you work for, the patients you treat, or the user you help service.
Additionally, to get funding for formal academic programs, the program must be relevant to either the field of nursing or being a midwife.
Opportunity for Growth and Personal Development
There are a few different ways to progress and grow through Ireland’s health care system.
You can progress clinically, which means when you start off as a staff nurse you do not have to remain a staff nurse.
With more time and experience, you can work your way up the ranks to senior staff nurse, clinical nurse, advanced nurse practitioner, and beyond.
As a nurse, you can also progress in managerial positions rather than clinical positions.
These managerial roles are less focused on clinical work going on in the wards and are more focused on making sure everything is running smoothly where you work.
Nurses seeking these managerial positions often progress to positions like Director of Nursing.
Another way you can progress and grow as a nurse is through education and research.
Nurses gain valuable experience and information through their years in the health care industry, so it seems like sharing that information through education and research is a natural next step.
Nurses can continue to work in the medical field by assisting in specific kinds of medical research. They can be mentors for student nurses, or they can become lecturers with universities.
From the start, your decision to become a nurse will be a respected one. As you gain more experience and continue to grow in your practice, you will continue to be respected and supported by your community.
How to Become a Nurse
The first step to becoming a nurse is to apply to nursing school through the Central Applications Office. Most nursing school programs are bachelors programs, so they require the completion of a secondary education.
Once you apply, decide what kind of nurse you want to be. Learning about the different kind of nursing options there are early on will help the decision-making process go smoothly.
After the Central Applications Office responds with their offers, choose where you want to go.
Once you complete nursing school, you must register with the Nursing & Midwifery Board of Ireland. You cannot legally practice as a nurse in Ireland unless you are in the register of nurses and midwives.
When you register through the NMBI, they offer registration services like collecting and processing your Annual Retention Fee.
Finally, after you have completed the required education and are registered, you can begin applying to nursing jobs you find interesting.
Take the Next Step
Beginning or changing a career can be confusing and complicated at times. As experts in the medical recruitment business, we know how to provide you with the support you need to find the perfect nursing job.
Ready to experience the benefits of nursing for yourself? Take the next step, and contact us to learn more about entering Ireland’s health care system as a nurse.