PICTURE: Psychiatric nurses who completed placements in Tipperary celebrate graduation

Four years of study in the South East Technological University (SETU), featuring 80 weeks of clinical placements in HSE Dublin and South East Mental Health services, was marked in a ceremony in Waterford for the Carlow-Kilkenny/Tipperary South and Waterford/Wexford area graduates of SETU’s B.Sc. (Honours) in Psychiatric Nursing.

Concluding their fourth year of the course and a 36 week continuous internship with the HSE in the South East, the students were presented with their qualifications at an occasion hosted in the Tower Hotel and attended by friends and family members of the student nurses.

Having begun their course in September 2021, upon completion of their training in the HSE in the coming weeks, the 41 participants will register with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland as Psychiatric Nurses.

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Following the presentation of a certificate and a badge to each student, the ceremony featured a “Blessing of the Hands” by SETU chaplain Fr. David Keating. The blessing of the hands is a universal healthcare tradition, believed to have been started by Florence Nightingale in the 1800s and is a symbolic gesture to remind nurses their hands should deliver compassionate care at all times. The ceremony concluded with students reciting the Nurses Pledge.

Speaking at the ceremony and in making presentations to the students, Emer O Donnell, Clinical Placement Coordinator South Tipperary, HSE Dublin and South East said:

“This group of graduates commenced their training in 2021, as the Irish health services were coming out of an unprecedented time. The students have contributed enormously to delivering the highest possible standards of care in mental health services throughout counties Carlow, Kilkenny, South Tipperary, Waterford and Wexford in that time. They have both our sincere appreciation and admiration for their commitment.”

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“Psychiatric/Mental Health nursing is a specialist field within the health care profession. It involves an interpersonal, caring process which acknowledges the uniqueness of each person. The Psychiatric Nurse is concerned with the promotion of mental health, the prevention of mental illness and the provision of care to those with mental health problems.”

“The HSE works closely with our SETU colleagues in facilitating clinical placements across a diverse range of mental health services, including two admission units, psychiatry of later life units, rehabilitation and recovery areas. Student nurses also complete placements in home based treatment teams, community mental health teams, day centres, several specialist nursing areas such as Child and Adolescent Mental Health teams, liaison services, substance misuse services, the Recovery College and other community supports and services based in community mental health settings across the South .

Dr. Sara Kennedy, Head of Department in the School of Nursing, SETU said:

“This diverse training afforded in the South East to graduates in Psychiatric Nursing is a solid foundation to developing professionally and making a lasting contribution to the delivery of quality, safe and effective mental health care locally, nationally and internationally.”

The ceremony in the Tower Hotel was also attended by the HSE Clinical Placement Co-ordinators, Helen Heffernan (Carlow), Claire Fitzgerald (Kilkenny), Emer O’ Donnell (South Tipperary), Paul Phelan (Waterford), Marilyn Vereker (Wexford), Emma Byrne (Wexford), in addition to Avril Nolan (Area Director of Nursing, HSE Mental Health Services) and Deirdre Chapman (Allocation Officer, School of Nursing, SETU).

Photo caption: Graduates of SETU’s B.Sc. (Honours) in Psychiatric Nursing, who completed their clinical placements in HSE Dublin and South East mental health services in the South Tipperary area, pictured with their HSE Clinical Placement Coordinator Emer O’ Donnell and Avril Nolan (Area Director of Nursing, HSE Mental Health Services) at the Graduation Ceremony held at the Tower Hotel, Waterford.