PICTURE SPECIAL: Nursing and Midwifery Careers Evening at Altnagelvin

The Western Health and Social Care Trust (Western Trust) this week held an open evening for students from local schools and colleges who are considering a career in nursing or mdwifery.

Information on training, qualifications and job roles was shared with over 170 students from the Derry, Magherafelt, Dungiven, Castlederg, Buncrana, Limavady, Coleraine, Maghera and Stranorlar areas.

Gerard Guckian, Western Trust chairman, opened the event and welcomed the students, their parents and teachers to the careers information evening.

He paid tribute to the highly skilled nurses and midwives and highlighted the central roles they play in the delivery of Western Trust services.

Brendan McGrath, assistant Director of Nursing, highlighted that a qualification in nursing and midwifery provides the opportunity for interesting and varied careers, with a range of career choices in the areas of adult nursing, children’s nursing, mental health nursing, learning disability nursing and midwifery.

When qualified, a nurse or midwife can further choose to remain in clinical practice or follow a career pathway into education, research or management.

As a career, Sally Martin, practice education co-ordinator explained: “Nursing and midwifery demands strong commitment, but a big part of the reward is in knowing that what you do is likely to have a deep and lasting impact on the person, their family, and the people you work with. This event focuses on educating local students to what it really means to be a Nurse or Midwife and why it can be such a rewarding career, which can lead to real changes in peoples' lives for the better.”

Photos show students from local schools and colleges along with staff at the Western Trust's Nursing and Midwifery Careers Evening.