The Work

On completion of a BSc in Mental Health Nursing, you will be eligible to apply to register with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI) as a Registered Psychiatric Nurse (RPN). This speciality of nursing is a wonderful and unique profession with unrivalled rewards gained from positively impacting people’s lives every day. In order to become a qualified practitioner, a 4 year programme is undertaken, which will provide you with opportunities to develop the knowledge and skills required for modern Mental Health/Psychiatric nursing practice.

On completion of this degree you will:

• Become a highly educated healthcare professional with an Honours Degree qualification.

• You will have a career for life with numerous opportunities for employment, promotion and further education.

• Learn critical thinking and problem solving skills to support people experiencing changes in their mental health status.

• Obtain the knowledge and competencies required to provide high quality, evidence based nursing care to people experiencing mental illness.

• Gain an understanding of the ethical principles and legal frameworks that govern the provision of mental health services in Ireland.

• Have the skills to help others to optimise their own health and wellbeing, through assessment, planning, implementing and evaluating appropriate physical and psychological nursing interventions.

What skills will I learn?

• From the start of your training you will learn how to develop your communication, observation and assessment skills to enable you to conduct a holistic assessment of the needs of the service users.
• The ability to collaborate with the service users and their families, as working together to plan and deliver individualised nursing care promotes recovery.
• How to deliver nursing care and interventions that are recovery-focused and follow a ‘strengths based’ approach which supports the service user to manage their own mental illness.
• Expert knowledge about mental illnesses including; Psychotic Disorders, Bipolar Affective Disorder, Eating Disorders, Depression, Anxiety Disorders, and Personality Disorders.

Specialised mental health care is also provided in areas such as:

•  Community Mental Health Teams (General Adult)
•  Adult Acute Inpatient Care
•  Psychiatry of Later Life (POLL)
•  Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS)
•  National Forensic Mental Health Services (NFMHS)
•  Early Intervention in Psychosis (EIP) Teams
•  Perinatal Mental Health Services
•  Liaison Psychiatry Team
•  Dual diagnosis of mental illness and Intellectual disability
•  Dual diagnosis of mental illness and Addictions
•  Suicide Crisis Assessment Nurse (SCAN) – for people experiencing mental distress who are in crisis.

Where Will I Work?

Once qualified, you will have the choice to work in a variety of Healthcare settings including:

• Acute Hospital setting
• Residential, Rehab and Recovery care setting
• Primary Care centres
• Day Care centres
• Day Hospital
• Community clinics
• Home Care Team

A key component of Mental Health/ Psychiatric nursing is collaborating with the multidisciplinary team to pool their clinical skills for the benefit of the person in their care.

These teams usually consist of:

• Mental Health/ Psychiatric Nurses (in a variety of roles)
• Consultant Psychiatrists
• Registrars
• Psychologists
• Occupational Therapists
• Social Workers
• Peer Support Workers
• Cognitive Behavioural therapist
• Addiction Counsellors
• Dietitians
• Health Care Assistants.
• External voluntary agencies

This occupation is typically suited for people with the following Career Interests:

Social

The Social person's interests focus on interacting with the people in their environment. In all cases, the Social person enjoys the personal contact with other people in preference to the impersonal dealings with things, data and ideas found in other groups.

Many will seek out positions where there is direct contact with the public in some advisory role, whether a receptionist or a counsellor. Social people are motivated by an interest in different types of people and like diversity in their work environments. Many are drawn towards careers in the caring professions and social welfare area, whilst others prefer teaching and other 'informing' roles.

Investigative

The Investigative person will usually find a particular area of science to be of interest. They are inclined toward intellectual and analytical activities and enjoy observation and theory. They may prefer thought to action, and enjoy the challenge of solving problems with sophiscticated technology. These types prefer mentally stimulating environments and often pay close attention to developments in their chosen field.

Administrative

Administrative people are interested in work that offers security and a sense of being part of a larger process. They may be at their most productive under supervisors who give clear guidelines and while performing routine tasks in a methodical and reliable way.

They tend to enjoy clerical and most forms of office work, where they perform essential administrative duties. They often form the backbone of large and small organisations alike. They may enjoy being in charge of office filing systems, and using computers and other office equipment to keep things running smoothly. They usually like routine work hours and prefer comfortable indoor workplaces.

To become a Mental Health/ Psychiatric Nurse you will need to undertake a degree course which will lead to a BSc in Mental Health Nursing (RPN), which is a Level 8 qualification. Entry requirements for these courses can vary depending on where and how you would like to study, so it is important to check with the particular college.

There are two pathways to becoming a Mental Health/ Psychiatric nurse in Ireland – the undergraduate or pre-registration route BSc (Hons) Mental Health and the post-registration route (Higher Diploma in Mental Health).

The Pre-Registration route-A four-year Bachelor of Science (Mental Health) following which you register on the Psychiatric Nursing Division of the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI) register.

The Post-Registration route-This 18 month Higher Diploma in Mental Health is open to applicants who already have a nursing qualification.

CAO Entry:Higher Education CAO entry. These programmes are offered through Education Bodies (EB’s) in association with the main Healthcare Agencies (Hospitals/Clinical Sites) Search our CAO coursefinder - just put in the word "Nurse or Nursing" in the search filter and all nursing courses at CAO level will be presented.

Go to https://www.nmbi.ie/Careers-in-Nursing-Midwifery for further information on how to train and register as a mental health nurse including:

• Programme: type, purpose, structure and competencies.
• Making an application: including CAO application, Higher Education Access Route (HEAR), Disability Access Route to Education (DARE), allowances and grants.
• Clinical and theoretical components of the Pre-reg Programme
• Entry requirements: Health requirements, Garda Vetting, English competency, non-EU applications. Standard and Mature applications.

Direct entry Mental Health/ Psychiatric Nursing is available in:

• Dublin City University
• University of Limerick
• TUS Midlands (formerly AIT)
• Trinity College Dublin
• Dundalk Institute of Technology
• University College Cork
• University of Galway (formerly NUIG)
• ATU Donegal
• University College Dublin
• MTU Kerry Campus (formerly IT Tralee)
• Ulster University Derry Campus
• SETU Waterford

Further Education & Training Entry Pathways: QQI Level 5 Certificate Programmes can provide links to Nursing Degree Programmes. See below come examples of these PLC Courses:   Search our FET PLC Coursefinder.

• Nursing Studies (5M4349)
• Healthcare Support (5M4339)
• Community and Health Services (5M4468)

In all cases places are limited and applicants must have achieved distinctions in five components including;

• Anatomy and Physiology (5N0749)
• Introduction to Nursing (5N4325)
• Human Growth and Development (5N1279) or Biology (5N2746)

You can check our QQI progression route course finder for options Search our progression routefinder

Tertiary Education Programmes

Tertiary Education Programmes are a new pathway to a bachelor’s degree. A joint further and higher education degree programme, tertiary education programmes begin in a local Education and Training Board Centre (College of Further Education and Training) and finish in a University. All tertiary education programmes lead to an NFQ level 7 or 8 degree.

Year 1 Education and Training Board – Kerry College – Denny Street Campus, Tralee. OR Cork Education and Training Board – Cork College of FET – Morrison’s Island Campus.

Years 2-5 Department of Nursing and Healthcare Sciences, Munster Technological University, Kerry Campus, Sólás Nursing Building, Tralee, Co. Kerry

Click here for full details.

Always contact the Admissions Office of the individual Education Bodies or visit CAO Nursing FET- QQI places, Admissions Officers contact list, or www.nursingcareers.ie to check for any changes. Courses completed at FET PLC level, if meeting subject criteria students can apply via CAO under the HELS Higher education links scheme for a place in Nursing programmes.

Mature Entry: All candidates are required to apply through CAO. Mature Entry is for those that are 23 years of age or older by 1st January in the year of entry, applicants are also required to sit an assessment test. The Nursing Careers Centre (NCC) of the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland, (NMBI) assesses candidates. 

Mature entry route is based on applying for a nursing course via www.cao.ie by 1st February or late application date of 1st May. Applicants can also avail of the change of mind facility on CAO up to 1st July. Although it is possible to make a late application to mature nursing, it is not possible to apply late for other mature entry routes. Other mature entry routes should be applied for by 1st February, to ensure they can engage in any mature assessments. Check out NMBI Mature student guide for more information.

Mature applicant places are limited and mature applicants must satisfy the minimum entry requirements for the Nursing programme and will also be assessed based on each Colleges [RPL] Recognition of prior learning.

On completion of a

Last Updated: October, 2023

Salary Range (thousands per year)* €35k - €83k

On completion of your programme your standard working week will be 37.5 hours on a shift pattern, which can include nights, early starts, evenings, weekends and bank holidays.

Other benefits include:

• Professional development and continuous learning
• Mentorship
• Employee Assistance Programme (Confidential and independent work-based support service available to all employees of the HSE including counselling, staff wellbeing and debriefing after critical incidents)
• Opportunities for career advancement
• Paid time off for holidays
• Employee recognition
• Rewards for years of service (increments)

Data Source(s):
HSE/ Indeed

Last Updated: July, 2024

* The lower figures typically reflect starting salaries. Higher salaries are awarded to those with greater experience and responsibility. Positions in Dublin sometimes command higher salaries.

View Salary information from Indeed.ie
Note: data not aways available

This occupation has been identified as a Job in Demand by the most recent National Skills Bulletin.

This information has been derived from the Solas National Skills Bulletin (2023).

The Slaintecare Action Plan 2023 highlights that an additional 4,592 nurses/midwives were employed in the health service since 2020; funding for an additional 149 posts for advanced nurse and midwife practitioners has also been secured. In addition, the Minister for Health has announced funding for 854 additional nursing posts.44 Over 3,000 new employment permits were issued for nurses in 2022, primarily for staff nurses. This reliance on supply from outside of Ireland has resulted in an increasing share of nurses who are non-Irish citizens (at over 30% in quarter 4 2022).

Vacancies for nurses appeared frequently in the vacancy data in 2022 (both DSP and OVATE) and difficult-to-fill vacancies in the Recruitment Agency Survey included for staff nurses, theatre, ICU, oncology, nurse managers. Supply from the higher education system is expected to increase, with the announcement in Summer 2023 of an additional 208 places on nursing courses to be made available in Irish higher education institutions and a further 200 places reserved for students from the Republic of Ireland, to be delivered in Northern Ireland. Nonetheless, given the duration of training programmes, demand for nurses is likely to continue to outweigh supply leading to a continued shortage, with replacement demand alone for such a large occupation contributing to continued job openings.

• Nursing & Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI)

  • 18-20 Carysfort Avenue, Blackrock, Co. Dublin.
  • (01) 639 8500 LoCall 0818 200 116
  • [email protected]
  • Click Here

• Office of the Nursing and Midwifery Services Director, HSE Dr Steevens’ Hospital

  • Dublin DO8 W2A8
  • 01 635 2471
  • Click Here

• PNA Psychiatric Nurses Association

  • Monread North, Co. Kildare
  • 045 852300
  • Click Here

• Regional Nursing and Midwifery Planning & Development Units

  • 01-6201772
  • Click Here

• Health Service Executive (HSE)

  • Dr Steevens' Hospital, Steevens Lane, Dublin, 8
  • 041 685 0300
  • Click Here