UCC SONM 25 Year Book

UCC / School of Nursing and Midwifery

“Tell me and I forget, Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn”

Benjamin Franklin

The placement of the school in the top 100 schools worldwide in the QS Global subject rankings is the result of the sustained effort of staff in advancing their scholarship, disseminating their research, and serving their institution, disciplines, and society in a variety of expert and leadership roles. Networking and collaboration is identified as being an important element of the academic role, a role that is performed well by staff in the school. Whilst the higher education sector has experienced a significant rise in the number of student enrolments, the numbers of academic staff teaching these students has reduced. Change, greater student diversity, new educational applications of technology, new demands and performance expectations have been challenges that staff have faced with enthusiasm and resilience. Being a clinical discipline means that the school has had to respond to both the higher education institutional quality and oversight requirements and also the regulatory body reaccreditation requirements which translates into a substantial workload for staff. The role of the lecturer has evolved over the history of the school with increased foci on raising external funds particularly through engagement in programmatic research, development of new educational programmes and through an agenda of internationalisation. Pedagogies have evolved with an increased emphasis on research led and research informed teaching and learning; experiential learning approaches, use of innovative teaching and learning methodologies particularly in the online space. Through teaching, and learning activities in both the university and in partner clinical sites staff have sought to develop the knowledge, values, attitudes and skills which help students to become creative thinkers, health knowledge connoisseurs, digitally fluent, socially responsible, global citizens.

Throughout the past 25 years and despite the challenges staff in the school have been collegiate, positive team players, leaders and exceptional colleagues.

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