Supporting Irish nurses

With the development of more nurse-led services in 2018, the Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital Dublin is providing a number of opportunities for career advancement

The Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital is an acute specialist hospital located on the south-side of Dublin city centre, and is a member of the Ireland East Hospital Group. It is the national referral centre for the treatment of ophthalmic, ear, nose, throat, head and neck disorders. For qualified nurses arriving back home, there are a number of opportunities for career advancement and specialising at the hospital.

“We have 140 nurses working at our hospital both full and part-time,” says Elspeth Finlay, Director of Nursing at the Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital. “We recognise that nurses often have to balance family and working life and we try to facilitate hours accordingly. As a small, specialist hospital, we are also able to focus on the needs of individuals. I know every nurse in the hospital by name, and we aim to provide a friendly, multicultural atmosphere, that welcomes new staff. We pride ourselves in supporting nursing staff to reach their potential in a unique specialist environment.”

The hospital currently runs the Postgraduate Diploma in Ophthalmic Nursing Studies in collaboration with the Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. We also provide shorter programmes for nurses who may not want to commit to a full academic course but want to learn more about ophthalmology.

“We have a small School of Nursing, which is the first port of call for those who want to develop themselves. We are looking for qualified nurses with a grounding in surgery, even if they don’t have experience in either of the two specialities. In-house training is provided for mandatory and specialist skills from the ground up. The nature of the hospital means that some of the work done here is not seen anywhere else, which adds a level of excitement for staff.

“There are a number of opportunities for nurses in Clinical Nurse Specialist and Advanced Nurse Practitioner roles,” continues Elspeth. “We give staff incremental credit for previous experience and offer a pension scheme and group health insurance as benefits for our employees. We are also accredited by the Joint Commission International – a globally recognised patient quality and safety accreditation organisation.

“Since we are in a city centre location, we are very close to transport links – buses, commuter trains and tramways. I think those coming back home will appreciate being able to keep close to their roots.”

Staff who join the hospital tend to come for a few months or to undertake a programme and tend to stay - they have a chance to advance in their careers and perform different roles and don’t feel the need to move on. The opportunity to specialise in different thrilling areas is what brings people to work at the hospital, but what makes them stay, is the opportunity to develop their careers in a friendly and supportive environment.

“I came to work here 16 years ago to do one job, I progressed into other roles and now I’m the Director of Nursing. There are so many opportunities for movement within the organisation and we strive at succession planning so that the employees we have assisted to develop, can achieve promotion and role expansion.”

With the development of more nurse-led services in 2018, the Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital Dublin will offer further opportunities for career advancement. There are many opportunities to progress at the hospital.

For more information on working at the Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital, visit www.rveeh.ie