A Graduate Diploma Critical Care Nursing (Children) will build on your existing knowledge and skills in caring for infants, children and young people within the paediatric intensive care setting. Possessing this advanced knowledge will enable you to utilise a range of therapeutic interventions, and enhance your ability to review differing approaches and trends in the care and treatment of infants, children and young people in paediatric critical care nursing.

Who is the programme for?

This programme is designed to meet the professional development needs of Registered Nurses who wish to specialise in Paediatric Critical Care Nursing. Specifically applicants should be registered as an RCN, RCN/RGN with a minimum of one year’s experience in Paediatric Intensive Care. Applicants registered as an RGN with a minimum of 2 years experience in Paediatric Nursing may be considered for the programme. Applicants should be employed in either the Intensive Care Unit of Our Lady's Hospital Crumlin, or the Children's University Hospital, Temple Street. Places are allocated on the programme subject to availability and place on waiting list.

Programme objectives

The Graduate Diploma Critical Care Nursing (Children) programme aims to build upon and advance the registered nurse’s repertoire of knowledge, skills, attitudes and professional values, in order to prepare the nurse to assume the role of a nurse specialist in this area of care. The programme aims to develop the practitioner’s capacities for caring and competent practice in paediatric intensive care nursing, in order to prepare the nurse to provide a patient-centred service within health care.

The specific aims of the programme

• To build upon and advance the student’s repertoire of knowledge, skills, attitudes and professional values that were developed during the course of his/her basic training and arising out of his/her experiences in clinical practice
• To provide the student with the requisite knowledge, skills, attitudes and professional values for the advancement of his/her role in the care of children and their families in critical care, including critical analysis, creative thinking, decision making and communication
• To develop a greater understanding of the theory which underpins critical care nursing practice including nursing theory, theory in the social and behavioural sciences and theory in the biomedical sciences
• To provide learning experiences that advance the student’s professional development and personal growth and experiences that affirm the student’s capacity to be a self-directed learner
• To advance the student’s sense of professional awareness, and commitment and a sense of professional responsibility and accountability in paediatric critical care nursing
• To enable the student to value learning as a continuous process and as a necessary process in the context of his/her professional role in paediatric critical care nursing

How will I benefit?

On successful completion of the programme, you will receive a Graduate Diploma in Critical Care Nursing (Children) from the UCD School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Systems. The programme is recognised nationally and internationally.

What will I learn?

The curriculum is designed to enhance your knowledge and skills with respect to the holistic assessment and management of the child and their family.