Becoming a Nurse/Midwife
Whether you’re a school leaver or a mature person considering career options then download a copy of Nursing/Midwifery- A Career for You (See below). This section provides a summary on becoming a Nurse or Midwife.
You’ll find all the relevant information you need and lots more useful advice on how nursing or midwifery really can be a career for your life. If the information is not there then refer to the FAQ section on the left hand side. If after reading the FAQ section and you still cannot find the information you are looking for, you can contact the NCC at email (ncc@nursingboard.ie), phone (01 639 8565) or by post (Nursing Careers Centre, An Bord Altranais, 18-20 Carysfort Avenue, Blackrock, Co Dublin).
Applying for Nursing or Midwifery
(Making an Application for all Pre-Registration Degree Courses in General Nursing, Intellectual Disability Nursing, Psychiatric Nursing, Children’s & General Nursing (Integrated) and Midwifery.)
Applications are made through the Central Applications Office (CAO). The CAO Handbook and Application Form is available from the CAO (www.cao.ie). Before completing the Application Form, the applicant should study carefully the Higher Education Institutions literature, the CAO Handbook, and the Nursing Careers Centre (NCC) publication Nursing/Midwifery A Career for You (see below downloads).
Codes
There are 2 codes an applicant to Nursing or Midwifery may use:
Standard Code is for those applicants who have, or hope to have, the Republic of Ireland Leaving Certificate (or equivalent including FETAC qualifications) entry requirements. For details of such requirements see Nursing/Midwifery A Career for You (see downloads below)
Mature Code is for those applicants who are 23 years of age or over on 1st January on the year of entry. Such applicants will be required to undergo an assessment process. For details, see Nursing/Midwifery A Career for You (see below download). A quota of places is allocated to mature code applicants. As a guide, this amounts to approximately 15% for general nursing, 35% for intellectual disability nursing, 35% for psychiatric nursing, 15% for children’s and general nursing (integrated) and 20% for midwifery. However, this is a dynamic quota and may vary between courses.
An applicant who wishes to be considered under both standard code and mature code categories must enter both appropriate codes as separate preferences. Only one programme code may appear in a preference box; a single programme code is a preference.
Order of Merit
Those who meet the minimum entry requirements will be placed on an Order of Merit list for each course in nursing or midwifery for which they have applied. The position on the Order of Merit lists is determined by:
- Points in the Leaving Certificate (or equivalent) for Standard Code Applicants
- Scores achieved at the Written Assessment for Mature Code Applicants
Refer to the booklet Nursing/Midwifery- A Career for you for further details.
Closing Dates for Application
| Item | Closing Date | Notes |
|---|
| Application | 1 February (5:15 p.m.) | |
| Late Application | 1 May (5:15 p.m.) | Late applications may not be submitted by:
- mature code applicants for any nursing/midwifery programme
- standard code or mature code
|