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Professional Diploma Principles of Intensive Care Nursing

ProfDip (NFQ Level 8)

This course is available through the following application route(s)

The Professional Diploma in Nursing (Principles of Intensive Care Nursing) programme is a 20 credit, level 8 programme offered in partnership between the University College Dublin (UCD) School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Systems (SNMHS) and the Blackrock Clinic. The Intensive Care Unit in the Blackrock Clinic is a mixed surgical and medical unit.

About Blackrock Clinic

Blackrock Clinic is the leading and longest established private hospital and clinic in Ireland. Since it opened in the mid 1980s, the Clinic has consistently built an unparalleled reputation in new high-tech surgical procedures, medical treatments and ground-breaking diagnostics. This reputation means that some of the best international and national consultants work at Blackrock Clinic.

Patient outcomes at Blackrock Clinic are very positive. We follow the progress of patients from the beginning of their journey with us and many of our outcomes outstrip international standards.

For over 14 years the organization has been recoqnised by the Joint Commission International (JCI) which accredits only hospitals that raise safety and quality of care standards to the highest levels.  We were one of the first hospitals in Ireland to attain this international recognition.

Blackrock Clinic is a progressive and pioneering hospital in which care for the patient is central to everything we do.

About This Course

The programme consists of 20 ECTS (European Credit Transfer System) credits at National Qualifications Authority of Ireland (NQAI) Level 8. The two modules are offered in sequence to facilitate targeted learning for the student.   The programme duration is from September to May.

  • build upon and advance the student’s repertoire of knowledge, skills, attitudes and professional values that were developed during their undergraduate education and  arising out of his/her experiences in clinical practice.
  • provide the student with the requisite knowledge, skills, attitudes and professional values for the advancement of his/her specialist knowledge in the care of patients and their families in the Intensive Care Unit in the Blackrock Clinic.
  • provide students with an opportunity for personal growth and professional development.
  • enable the student to value learning as a continuous and necessary process in the context of intensive care nursing.

About the Blackrock Clinic ICU 

Blackrock Clinic has a 12 bedded state of the art Intensive Care. It is a tertiary level unit with a complete range of critical care supports. Its case mix includes level 3 patients with facilities for:

  • CRRT (Dialysis)
  • Nitric Oxide
  • Dedicated post-ICU Rehab
  • Novalung Therapy
  • Cardiac / Thoracic / Vascular /Spinal, General Surgery & Hepatobiliary services

The unit has a dedicated ICU Consultant Rota team available to accept patient transfers from other hospitals on a 24 / 7 basis.

The facility admits  over 800 patients per year making it one of the busiest ICUs in the country.

Programme Strengths

  • UCD has a long history of producing high quality graduates
  • This programme is highly focused on enhancing your clinical practice and the achievement of realistic and attainable attributes in the practice of nursing in the Intensive Care environment in the Blackrock Clinic Hospital
  • Clinical and university-based lecturers with national and international expertise from clinical, research and educational perspectives
  • The Programme employs a variety of innovative assessment strategies with a strong clinical focus
  • Extensive use of IT in supporting the teaching environment of the programme
  • Access to excellent facilities for lectures

Does this programme have an official conferring ceremony?

Please note there is no online or in-person conferring ceremony for this programme. Your parchment will be posted to you by UCD Conferring.

Below is a list of all modules offered for this degree in the current academic year. Click on the module to discover what you will learn in the module, how you will learn and assessment feedback profile amongst other information.

Incoming Stage 1 undergraduates can usually select an Elective in the Spring Trimester. Most continuing undergraduate students can select up to two Elective modules (10 Credits) per stage. There is also the possibility to take up to 10 extra Elective credits.

Module Type Module   Trimester Credits
Stage 1 Core Modules
NMHS32430 Theoretical and Clinical Nursing Care related to Specialised Patient Groups within the ICU. 2 Trimester duration (Aut-Spr)  10
Stage 1 Core Modules
NMHS32440 Core Theoretical Concepts of Nursing Care for the Critically Ill patient. Autumn  10

Funding:

If the fees for your programme are being paid by a third party (full or partial), please ensure your funding organisation/sponsor/hospital contacts student.payments@ucd.ie. Please note this is not a student facing email address.

Student Queries:

If you have any queries about your fees, please contact the Student Desk:

www.ucd.ie/askus

https://www.ucd.ie/students/studentdesk/

Application Fee:

Please note that all applicants are required to pay the €60 application fee. Your application cannot be processed fully unless the application fee has been paid.

More information about fees is available on the UCD website at the link below:

Entry Requirements

  • All applicants must hold a primary degree in Nursing (or equivalent in related discipline)/RPL (Recognition of Prior Learning) consideration if applicant does not hold a degree

  • All applicants must be entered onto the appropriate division of the Nurses Register maintained by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI)

  • All applicants must be employed in the intensive care unit in the Blackrock Clinic for the duration of the programme and work a minimum of 75 hours per month. Further information is available on the Blackrock Clinic website

  • In addition, each student must provide documented evidence from the Director of Nursing in the clinical practice area, which guarantees a placement for the duration of the programme

Documents required:

  • Transcript(s) including date and grading of degree award (non UCD Graduates only) and notarised English translations where relevant
  • A current photocopy of NMBI registration
  • Copy of Birth Certificate or Personal Page of Passport
  • Signed Declaration Form from Employer (original form) Declaration Form
  • Completed Professional Reference Form (original form) Professional Reference Form
  • Evidence of proficiency in English language (applicants whose first language is not English)

Part Time option suitable for:

Domestic(EEA) applicants: Yes
International (Non EEA) applicants currently residing outside of the EEA Region. No


This programme is for registered nurses employed in the Blackrock Clinic who wish to gain experience, knowledge, skills and proficiency in the care of patients within the Intensive care environment.



How will you benefit?



You will be able to safely and competently care for critically ill patients in the Intensive Care environment in the Blackrock Clinic. On successful completion you be awarded a 10 credit exemption from the Graduate Diploma Nursing Critical Care Intensive Care programme which leads on to a Master’s Degree in Critical Care Nursing.


General application route(s) for Irish/UK/EU applicants* for International (non-EU) applicants* to Professional Diploma Principles of Intensive Care Nursing:

ROWCLASS Apply to   Application Type  
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Professional Diploma Principles of Intensive Care Nursing
Professional Diploma
Commencing 2024/2025 September Undergraduate Cert and Diploma Apply
* you can change options at the top of the page