An Coiste Feabhais Acadúil
The Committee on Academic Quality Improvement
The Academic Quality Assurance Programme 2006-2007
Report to Údarás na hOllscoile
Review of
Department of Nursing and Midwifery Studies
Self-Assessment
Review Group Visit
Follow Up Meeting
September 2006 to February 2007
12th – 15th March, 2007
30th May 2007
This Report was compiled for members of Údarás na hOllscoile, NUI Galway and its
committees as a readily accessible but comprehensive source of information on the above
review, its context and its outcomes.
Quality Office, July 2007
Report to Údarás – Review of Department of Nursing and Midwifery Studies 2006–2007
2
1. Overview of Department
1.1 Aims and Objectives
Aims
The aims, purpose and objectives of the Department were developed as part of the overall
strategic plan, which covers 2006-2011. A review of the strategic plan and the identification of
each year’s operational plan (devised to enable the achievement of the overall plan) is
undertaken annually at the staff workshop, usually held in June.
The purpose of the department is to develop innovative, practice-focused programmes and to
undertake quality research of local, national and international relevance. The two broad goals of
the department are as follows:
 To prepare graduates who are analytical, knowledgeable, responsive and highly skilled.
 To undertake quality research that effects change and makes a difference to client care and
delivery.
The mission statement focuses on three key areas: student, community and staff.
 To educate students who are knowledgeable, analytical, caring, client-centred practitioners
who have the capacity to engage in life-long learning and contribute to the development of
health care.
 To advance knowledge through quality research and scholarship that is of international
standing.
 To contribute to the development of the health care system, through the design and delivery of
quality, dynamic educational programmes.
 To forge links and partnerships with appropriate bodies to ensure the relevancy,
responsiveness and quality of educational programmes and research.
 To fully develop the potential of staff through the provision of staff development programmes,
academic support and a culture of opportunity and acknowledgement.
Objectives
The Departmental strategic plan outlines four strategic areas; teaching and curriculum
development, quality research, community contribution and strategic alliances. Within teaching,
the focus is upon developing further the student focus of the department by ensuring that
students have appropriate academic support, accessible information and programme choices that
meet student needs. The area of inter-professional learning will be actively promoted within the
department and faculty. The Department will also explore and develop flexible modes of
learning aimed at widening student choice and focus curriculum development around creative
choices within current provision. The Department aims to develop its research activities further
by focusing its research activities around three key areas: older people, education and practice
innovation. It will actively seek research partners within and outside the University. The
Department will also support and encourage active researchers and identify ways of encouraging
and maintaining research activity.
The Department is committed to using knowledge to benefit the community as a whole. It
will continue to work with colleagues within the Health Service Executive and to contribute to
the development of learning environments within practice areas. The Department will also seek
to develop further its strategic alliances with stakeholders, National Bodies, Nursing Midwifery
Planning and Development Units and Directors of Nursing and Midwifery.
NursingUdarasRep07Final
Report to Údarás – Review of Department of Nursing and Midwifery Studies 2006–2007
3
1.2 Background
The Centre for Nursing Studies was established in 1993 prior to the first cohort of
diploma/degree students commencing in 1994 and became the Department of Nursing and
Midwifery Studies in 2006. It is now the largest Department in the University.
1.3 Progress
The last five years has been a time of substantial change for the Department of Nursing and
Midwifery Studies. Staffing levels, programmes, buildings and research activity have all
undergone radical change.
There has been a major change in staffing levels. At the last review in 2001 there were 8
academic staff and 1.5 administrative staff. In 2002, the Bachelor of Nursing Science
commenced and a new resourcing plan was agreed by the University; this included the provision
of a number of new staff. Most new staff were recruited, as a result of national integration
agreements, from Schools of Nursing. In 2002, twelve staff integrated into the University as
part of this agreement. In 2006, three new midwifery staff joined the department. The
Department also has a dedicated Allocations Officer who is responsible for the strategic
development of placements and overseeing the auditing of these placement sites and a Project
Manager who is responsible for overseeing all issues related to integration, preparation of
clinical staff and the new building. Programme development has also been a major feature of
departmental activities. There are now 21 validated programmes.
Research activity has also developed significantly. At the last review, staff were attempting
to undertake research and had achieved a small amount of research funding. Most staff are now
involved in research and the Department has been successful in attracting a number of national
research grants. Staff publications and conference presentations have also grown significantly.
The Department hosted its first international conference in April 2007.
1.4 Student Numbers
The total number of fulltime equivalent (FTE) students in the Department was 589 in the year
2004/2005, representing an increase of 25.3% in the three years since 2001-2002.
1.5 Student to Staff Ratios
In 2004-2005, the number of fulltime equivalent (FTE) academic staff in the Department of
Nursing and Midwifery Studies was 35.8, giving a student:staff ratio of 16 in year ending 2005
(this ratio was 34 in 2001-02). For the same academic year, across the Faculty of Medicine and
Health Sciences, the average student:staff ratio was 12.
1.6 Accommodation and Facilities
At the last review, the Department had no dedicated teaching or office space, staff were
scattered within a number of buildings and cohesion and communication were challenging. The
entire Department is now housed in a state-of-the-art building, Áras Moyola, completed in 2005.
2. Review Group Report Summary and Recommendations
This report arises from a visit by a Review Group to the Department of Nursing and Midwifery Studies
in NUI, Galway on 12th-15th March, 2007. The Department had already prepared and submitted a Self
Assessment Report that, with a substantial amount of other documentation, was made available to the
Group in advance of the visit.
The Review Group consisted of: Professor David Sines acting as chair (Executive Dean, Faculty of
Health and Social Care, London South Bank University), Dr. Eileen Savage (Senior Lecturer, School of
Nursing and Midwifery, UCC), Ms. Maura McDonnell (Director of Nursing, Special Palliative Care,
NursingUdarasRep07Final
Report to Údarás – Review of Department of Nursing and Midwifery Studies 2006–2007
4
HSE, Dublin Northeast), Professor John Laffey serving as cognate member (Anaesthesia Department,
NUI Galway), and Professor Adrian Frazier (English Department, NUI Galway), acting as rapporteur.
Summary
The Department of Nursing and Midwifery Studies is undergoing a major transformation. It has
a dynamic Professor who is respected by her staff and Health Service Executive West
colleagues. The staff are fully committed to their own transformation into citizens of the
university community and of Nursing and Midwifery into an academic department. The Review
Group endorses the claims made by the Nursing and Midwifery Department in its selfassessment report and considers the criteria for academic quality assurance are met. The
Department acknowledges that its key tasks are
 To consolidate, further develop and sustain its teaching programmes
 To develop further and refine its research programme
 To design and implement an effective organizational structure to support the development of
the department.
Main Recommendations
1.
Organization and Management
a. The current organizational structure is flat and undifferentiated, and should be
restructured.
b. The role of the new tier of senior lecturers within the department’s academic
structures needs to be carefully determined.
c. A case should be made for the establishment of a senior administrative position to
manage the business and administrative functions of the Department.
2.
Programmes and Instruction
a. The Department in partnership with Health Service Executive West Managers should
design and implement responsive programmes to provide regular updates for
preceptors.
b. The Department should explore opportunities for the appointment of lecturerpractitioners to further this development.
c. A multidisciplinary team led by the Dean and involving student representation,
should be convened to address the problem of the biological science element in the
nursing curriculum.
d. Opportunities should be taken to review programme’s specific competence outcomes
in areas such as psychiatry.
e. The Department should increase flexibility in the design of programmes (work-based
learning, e-learning, and blended learning, short courses, stand-alone modules, etc.),
in order to accommodate nurses who cannot obtain extensive study leave for
postgraduate work; such learning events should be accredited.
f. The Department should continue to work with Health Service Executive West
managers in the co-design of educational opportunities to meet emerging needs; e.g.,
in general surgical nursing, medical nursing, and psychiatric nursing.
g. The Ph.D. students should be assisted to establish links with their peers in other
departments. A postgraduate Nursing and Midwifery Department seminar
programme may be useful both to staff and graduate students in cognate disciplines.
h. Plans for the transfer of the Nursing Library to the main campus, ideally as part of an
integrated Health Services Library, should be pursued as a priority.
3.
Scholarship and Research
a. The Department should continue to grow its staff to Ph.D. level, in accordance with
the Department’s stated strategy.
NursingUdarasRep07Final
Report to Údarás – Review of Department of Nursing and Midwifery Studies 2006–2007
5
b. The Department should develop its older person research area in collaboration with
other departments.
c. The development of an educational research will require the formation of stronger
collaborative research links with CELT and other cognate areas.
d. The Practice Innovation strand of research is less clear. This strand might be refined
to become a ‘Chronic Disease’ research strand.
e. The Department needs to develop strong collaborative links with research partners
for each strand, both within the Medicine and Health Sciences Faculty and across
Faculties within the University.
f. The Department needs to more closely align the research strands with Institutional
research objectives, and to critically analyse the current fit between the identified
research strands and overall University priority research areas.
g. The Department should increase the volume and quality of its published research
output.
h. The Department should critically evaluate the contribution made by the visiting
external professors.
i. The Department might consider additional research areas including Public
Health/Primary Care, Mental Health, and Palliative Care. It is important, however,
that research of all types arising from lecturer’s scholarly initiative should be pursued
and valued.
3. Action Plans
Follow-up Meeting, Wednesday 30th May, 2007, Lecture Room 3, Áras Moyola.
Present: Professor Jim Browne - Registrar, Professor J Gosling - Director of Quality (chair), Professor John Laffey
- Review Group Cognate member, Professor Adrian Frazier - Review Group Rapporteur, Dr Iain MacLabhrainn Director of CELT, Mr Padraic DeBúrca - Research Office, Professor BG Loftus - Dean of Medicine & Health
Sciences Faculty, Professor Kathy Murphy - Head of Department Nursing & Midwifery Studies, Ms Y Conway, Ms
C Cooley, Ms E Burke, Dr D Casey, Ms M McNicholas, Ms B Morgan, Ms D Kerans, Ms A Geluk, Ms S Smith,
Ms D O’Donnell, Ms M Gilhooley, Ms M Kelly, Ms C Counihan, Ms B Mooney, Ms J Knight, Mr B McCarthy, Ms
C Ó Tuathail, Ms F Farrelly, Ms Anne Fallon, Ms C Engel, Ms D Van der Putten, Ms T Meaney, Ms L Mee, M G
Lyons (in attendance). Apologies: Ms Maura McDonnell – Review Group member, Ms L Dempsey, Ms A
Cooney, Ms C Welford, Ms M O’Hara.
3.1 Action Plan for the Department:
1.
The Department will hold a workshop before the end of July 2007 to address a number of
pressing issues, including:
a. Organisational structure, the roles and responsibilities of teaching and administrative
staff and the local relevance of restructuring. The review recommendation that a more
senior administration position be created will be considered in these broader contexts.
b. Distance learning: how, how many and how much?
2.
The Head of Department will initiate a policy discussion with the Joint Working Group on
the present and future roles of lecturer-practitioner positions by October, 2007.
3.
All opportunities that arise will be taken to review the specific competence outcomes of all
academic programmes in areas such as psychiatry.
4.
Before January 2008 and in partnership with the HSE West Managers, the Department will
design and implement responsive programmes to provide for regular updates for
preceptors.
NursingUdarasRep07Final
Report to Údarás – Review of Department of Nursing and Midwifery Studies 2006–2007
5.
The Department will continue to work with the HSE West Managers in the co-design of
educational opportunities to meet emerging needs; e.g., in general surgical nursing,
medical nursing and psychiatric nursing.
6.
The Department will continue to enhance and develop its research ethos and outputs
through strong collaborative links with research partners, both within the Faculty of
Medicine & Health Sciences and across other University Faculties. In addition:
a. Ph.D. students will be assisted to establish links with their peers in other departments.
Joint initiatives with cognate disciplines will be established and their students will be
invited to present at seminars in the School of Nursing and Midwifery.
b. The Department will promote the continued acquisition of Ph.D.s by staff, in
accordance with their stated strategy.
c. Research in already identified areas such as the ‘older person’ and ‘chronic disease’
will be promoted, where possible in collaboration with other departments.
d. Currently, the target publication output per member of staff is one article per year and
this will be increased as more staff obtain PhDs.
e. Collaborative research links with CELT and other cognate areas will be enhanced and
an educational research cluster developed.
6
3.2 Action Plan for University Management:
1.
Because of the effectiveness of its managerial and administrative processes, the University
regards the Department of Nursing & Midwifery Studies as a suitable model for
consideration as new schools are formed due to re-structuring.
2.
The Nursing Library will move to the James Hardiman Library in the short-term and over
the longer-term it will be integrated as part of the Health Services Library.
3.
The Dean has established a multidisciplinary working group to address the difficulties in
relation to Biological Sciences teaching of undergraduate nursing and midwifery
programmes.
4.
The Director of Quality will revise the review guidelines to take account of feedback
obtained:
 As restructuring is implemented and reviews of three to four schools per year becomes
the sufficient norm, greater numbers of (non-accredited) programmes will be subject to
review. Therefore, the academic enterprise of the University will be reviewed by a
combination of holistic reviews of schools, colleges, research centres and programmes
not subject to accreditation review.
 The Quality Office will ensure that in future, except in exceptional circumstances,
review visits will not commence on a Monday morning.
Approved by: Head of Department, Professor Kathy Murphy, 29th June, 2007
Approved by: Dean of Med & Health Sciences, Professor B.G. Loftus, 10th July, 2007
Approved by: Registrar, Professor Jim Browne, 12th July 2007
Approved by: Vice President for Research, Professor Nicholas Canny, 12th July 2007
Approval by: Director of CELT, Dr. Iain MacLabhrainn, 26th July 2007
Finalised: 26th July 2007, Jim Gosling, Director of Quality
NursingUdarasRep07Final