The Committee

How it Works

The affairs of the Irish Association of Advanced Nurse/Midwife Practitioners association shall be managed by a committee consisting of the following:

  • Chairperson
  • Deputy Chairperson
  • Secretary
  • Treasurer
  • Sub Committee Officers

A quorum for a committee meeting shall be five of which two must be an officer of the committee. The committee shall have the authority to:

  • Co-opt a member of the association to fill a vacancy, which will be subsequently endorsed at an AGM
  • Establish sub committees the members of which shall be appointed at the discretion of the committee
  • Invite persons who are not members of the Association to attend certain meetings to give expert advice

The Committee 2022

The IAANMP committee members are all volunteer members who contribute their expertise in order to advance the mission and vision of the association.

IAANMP Member
Aidan Foley
Chairperson
Caroline Fraser
Caroline Fraser
Vice Chair
IAANMP Member
Ms. Audrey Butler
Treasurer
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Dona Liza Cromar
Secretary

Subcommittee Officers

Aidan Fallon
IAANMP Member
Deirdre Gleeson
IAANMP Member
Mary Gillespie
IAANMP Member
Trish McKeowan
IAANMP Member
Roisin Lennon

Honorary Members

'Connor cropped
Ms. Cora O'Connor
Founding Member
Ms. Valerie Small
Ireland's First RANP
IAANMP Member
Christine McDermott
Former Chair
IAANMP Member
Karen Brennan
Former Vice Chair
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Mr Aidan Foley. Registered Advanced Nurse Practitioner [Emergency]
Aidan is a RANP in Emergency at the Mater University Hospital in Dublin, working in both the Emergency Department and the off-site LIU (Rapid Injury Clinic) in Smithfield. He holds a BSc in Nursing (General) from the University of West London (2004) and a post graduate certificate in Emergency Nursing from the same institution (2007). In 2011 Aidan complete a fulltime MSc Nursing in Trinity College Dublin, and subsequently a Graduate Certificate in Advanced Practice (2017) and a Certificate in Medicine and Ionizing Radiation prescribing (2018) in University College Dublin. Aidan has worked in Emergency Nursing since 2005 in a variety of settings including St Mary’s Hospital London, the Mater and Tallaght University Hospitals in Dublin, and spent almost 3 years as lead nurse in a remote clinic in Malawi Africa funded and run by an Irish NGO. Aidan commenced work as an ANP candidate in 2017, attaining registration in the same year. In addition to his clinical role Aidan is committed to the development and promotion of advanced nursing and midwifery practice through his involvement in education, audit and research. He is also involved in several committees and representative forums and was elected as a subcommittee member of the IAANMP in 2021.
Caroline Fraser, Registered Advanced Nurse Practitioner (Emergency)
Caroline is a Registered Advanced Nurse Practitioner (RANP) in the Emergency Department (ED) in the Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise. She is responsible for assessing and treating both adults and children with injuries and minor illnesses. Caroline has worked in the Emergency Directorate both in England and Ireland for 26 years in a variety of roles including Clinical Nurse Manager 2 & 3 and Regional ED Clinical Facilitator. During this time, she completed a post graduate course in emergency nursing and a BSc in nursing. In 2017, she began her career in advanced practice and undertook a Masters in Advanced Practice in Trinity College, Dublin. Caroline is a registered nurse prescriber and is authorised to refer for radiological procedures. In addition to the clinical component, her role also incorporates the provision of leadership and education to staff in the ED. She is an ACLS instructor and a member of the Midlands ED ANP group, Emergency Medicine Programme ANP forum group and the IAANMP. Caroline has lectured in Athlone Institute of Technology (AIT) on post-graduate courses and has assisted in developing both the Higher Diploma in Emergency Nursing and the Emergency Nursing Foundation programme in AIT. She has a special interest in pain management in the ED and has carried out research in this area. Caroline was recently involved in implementing a virtual fracture clinic into the Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise which was the first hospital in Ireland to do so with no orthopaedic speciality. She has carried out a number of audits in this area which she has presented at national conferences.
Ms. Audrey Butler. Registered Advanced Nurse Practitioner [Orthopaedics]

Audrey Butler (MHSc (Advanced Practice), RGN, BSN, RNP, HDip Ortho) has worked in the Dept of Trauma Orthopaedics in UHL for 15 years.Prior to this she worked as a Staff Nurse on the Orthopaedic Trauma Ward and was then appointed Clinical Nurse Specialist in 2007, a post she filled for nine years.

Audrey has enhanced her academic and professional development through a vast amount of further education. Her continued professional development was also enhanced through attendances at many orthopaedic nursing courses and conferences. This also gave her opportunity to present audit and research projects undertaken as part of her role.

Audrey completed her Masters in Advanced Specialist Practice in NUIG in 2014 and is a Registered Nurse Prescriber of Medications and Ionising Radiation.

She was appointed Candidate Advanced Nurse Practitioner in Orthopaedics in March 2016 and received accreditation from NMBI in Feb 2017 as a Registered Advanced Nurse Practitioner Orthopaedics, the 1st RANP post nationally within this speciality. Audrey Is an Adjunct Lecturer in the School of Nursing and Midwifery NUIG and is passionate about improving the patient experience of out-patient fracture care at UHL in collaboration with her Consultant colleagues.

Dona Liza Cromar – Secretary

Dona is a Registered Advanced Nurse Practitioner in Emergency Care who works in both the Injury Unit at Roscommon University Hospital (RUH) and the Emergency Department (ED) at Galway University Hospital (GUH). She is responsible for diagnosing and effectively treating a wide range of injuries in both adults and children over the age of five. In addition, she is competent in dealing with specific ear, nose and ophthalmic presentations.

Dona undertook her Bachelor of Nursing Degree at Trinity College Dublin. She has worked in the ED at the Midland Regional Hospital Tullamore (MRHT) and GUH as an emergency nurse. She obtained a Postgraduate Diploma in Emergency Nursing at the National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG) and went on to secure a permanent position as Clinical Nurse Manager at the MRHT’s ED. She was the nurse lead in the development of a new service and oversaw quality improvement initiatives. She has worked extensively in data collection, audit and policy development. Furthermore, she has completed a Certificate in Prescribing of Medicinal Products and a Certificate in Referring Patients for Ionising Radiation at University College Dublin. She graduated with an Honours Master’s Degree in Advanced Nursing Practice, allowing her to enter the register as an RANP.

She is a member of the Unscheduled Care Safety Group and the nurse representative on the Drugs and Therapeutics Committee in RUH. Her qualitative research was presented at both a national and international conference. She is involved in the expansion of the current services at RUH, as well as the development of referral pathways and policies. In her role, Dona provides guidance and education to the staff in the Injury Unit.

Mr. Aidan Fallon. Registered Advanced Nurse Practitioner [Emergency]

Aidan is a RANP in Emergency at Portiuncula University Hospital since 2013. He qualified from Portiuncula Hospital School of Nursing in 1992. Having gained experience as a staff nurse in a number of hospitals he returned to Portiuncula in 2000 and started working in the Emergency Department firstly as a staff nurse and then as a CNM 2. During this time he completed a Post Graduate Diploma in Emergency Nursing, and a MSc in Advanced Nursing Practice as well completing courses in medicinal prescribing and x-ray prescribing.

He is an adjunct lecturer at the National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG) and currently assists on the MSc Advanced Practice and Nurse Prescribing modules. He has co-authored modules for the Postgraduate Diploma courses in Nursing at NUIG. Along with his colleagues in the Emergency Department they he has undertaken a number of audits which they presented at both the IAEM and EUSEM conferences in 2017 and 2018. He was Chairman of the HSE West ANP Forum from 2016-2017. As well as the clinical aspect of his work his role also encompasses the provision of leadership and education to both nursing and other members of the multidisciplinary team.

Ms.Deirdre Gleeson. Registered Advanced Nurse Practitioner [Emergency]
Deirdre has been working as an Advanced Nurse Practitioner between the ED and the local injury Units within the Emergency Care Network in University Limerick Hospitals Group (ULHG) since September 2014. Previously she worked as a CNM I for almost 11 years in the Emergency Department in Nenagh General Hospital where she gained extensive knowledge and her passion for emergency nursing. During this period she embarked on an educational journey from Post Graduate Diploma to Msc in Advanced Nursing Practice, completing courses in medicinal prescribing and x-ray prescribing along the way. In line with national hospital configuration and service need, Deirdre and a team of 5 other RANPs rotate between the ED and the 3 Injury Units (IU) within the Emergency Care Network of the UL Hospitals Group providing safe, efficient and autonomous care to adult patients and paediatric patients over the age of 5 with a range of injuries and conditions as per a collaboratively agreed scope of practice. Deirdre is involved in a number ANP committees and groups both nationally and locally. Since 2014 she has been a committee member of the Irish Association of Advanced Nurse and Midwife Practitioners.
Ms. Mary Gillespie. Registered Advanced Nurse Practitioner Rheumatology.
Mary Gillespie MHSc (Advanced Practice and Nurse Prescribing NUIG), HDip (Rheumatology UCD), RGN, ENB 124 (Coronary Care) Mary has worked in the Rheumatology Department of the University Hospital Limerick Group working across all sites and based at Nenagh Hospital Co. Tipperary for the last 10 years. Prior to this she worked as a Staff Nurse in the Coronary Care Unit at Harefield Hospital Buckinghamshire before returning to Ireland working in Coronary Care at Wexford, Sligo and Nenagh Hospitals. With the reconfiguration of the Limerick hospital group Mary was redeployed to the outpatient setting where Mary’s interest in rheumatology began this led to achieving a Hdip in Rheumatology becoming a CNS and developing a nurse led rheumatology service at Nenagh hospital in 2013 a post held until she was appointed Candidate Advanced Nurse Practitioner in Rheumatology in 2017 and received accreditation from NMBI in 2019 as a Registered Advanced Nurse Practitioner Rheumatology Mary is an Adjunct Lecturer in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at University of Limerick.. She has been a member of the IRNF since 2013 currently sitting on the committee of the IRNF and a member of the IAANMP and IRHPS. Mary has previously been the candidate ANP nurse representative on the Steering Group for the Graduate to Advanced Nurse practice demonstrator project initiative which led the drive for the critical mass of ANP’s supported by the Department of Health. Currently Mary is the nurse representative on the National clinical Programme for Rheumatology looking at developing practical solutions to addressing problematic areas such as delays in outpatient appointments. Mary has also participated on a scheduled care transformation programme by the Department of health. Mary is passionate about improving the patient experience of out-patient Rheumatology in collaboration with her Nursing and Consultant colleagues.
Ms.Trisha Mc Keown. Registered Advanced Nurse Practitioner [Emergency]

Trisha has been a RANP since 2013. She began as a staff nurse in 1993 at Whipps Cross University Hospital, London and has worked in the Emergency setting since. She has been working in the ULHG for the past 17 years.She is also a Registered Children’s Nurse, Nurse Prescriber of both Ionising Radiation and medications. She completed her MSc Advanced practice in NUIG in 2011.

Trisha is an active member of the HSE West Forum, EMP ANP & LIU forums. As part of the EMP LIU Forum she took the lead in the design of the new National IU document.

Trisha is an IAANMP member since 2012 , and held the position of Association secretary since 2015.

She is passionate about educating staff to grow their knowledge to better care for our patients and families. She is an advocate for the progression of advanced practice.

Roisin Lennon
I trained as a nurse back in the days of PTS in the Adelaide Hospital, Dublin. During my 6-week maternity placement in the Coombe I decided to be a midwife and secured a student midwife place in Perth Royal Infirmary in Scotland. On becoming a midwife I worked as a rota midwife in Ninewells Hospital in Dundee for 4 years and obtained my post grad BSc (Hons) in Nursing also. I then moved back to PRI and worked there for a further 8 years as a team midwife. In 2003 I moved to Sligo where I started work on the maternity ward and then was a senior midwife on the labour ward for many years becoming the first registered nurse/midwife prescriber in the unit. A six-month stint covering the CMM3 post for maternity leave made me realise that I wanted to focus on hands on clinical midwifery. I obtained a Master of Health Science in Advanced Practice in 2016 and registered as a RAMP in Midwifery care in 2017. My service aims to normalise pregnancy and birth for a caseload of women with underlying medical conditions and other complexities that mean they do not meet the criteria for normal midwife led care. In the 5 years since introducing the service, the caseload numbers have grown. The service is rated favourably by the women and the birth outcomes are comparable with findings from women attending for continuity of midwifery care for normal risk women. I am also an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant and provides a self-referral feeding support clinic in SUH. I feel privileged to be a midwife and to be a part of so many women’s pregnancy journey and am proud to be able to provide a choice of care pathway for the service users of SUH maternity services.
Ms Cora O Connor. RANP [Emergency].

Founding member of the IAANMP

Dear Members,

I qualified as an Advanced Nurse Practitioner in 2004 in the Mater Hospital. Advanced Practice at that time was a fairly new initiative, having been introduced in St James’s Hospital in 1996. Therefore there was just a small cohort of advanced practitioners in the country, the majority of whom worked in Emergency Departments. As the role was unique and still in its infancy in Ireland, I decided that a network would be necessary to support the nurses and midwives in practice, as well as those on the career pathway to advanced practice and to facilitate a system for the sharing of information between groups. The Association however needed to be inclusive of all of the facilitators of advanced practice, in the realisation that advanced practice does not occur in a vacuum. Therefore the Association extended an invitation to Clinical Managers, Directors of Nursing and Midwifery and University Lecturers. In the same vein the Association would not have come to fruition without the help of the other founding members, Paula Mc Brearty and Bernadette Carpenter. It would not have weathered the last thirteen years from that first meeting in the Pillar room of the Mater Hospital where a handful of people gathered, without the steadfastness of those people who were present on that day and are still, members and committee members of the Association today

The remit of an Advanced Practitioner is based on four core concepts: Autonomy in clinical practice; pioneering professional and clinical leadership; expert practitioner; researcher and auditor.

The Association has endeavoured to facilitate, showcase and promote the extra ordinary work of advanced practitioners in all specialities both nationally and internationally.

The IAANMP has come a long way since inception. The ongoing success of the Association is based on the continued support and enthusiasm of its members and its utilisation as a platform for sharing information and support.

Cora O Connor.

Ms.Christine McDermott. Registered Advanced Nurse Practitioner [Neonatology]

RN, RM, RNP, RANP, BNS, BSc (Hons) Neonatal Studies, MSc.

Newly elected Chairperson, Christine has worked as a Registered Advanced Nurse Practitioner (Neonatology) at the Rotunda Hospital, Dublin since 2005 the first of such posts in neonatology.  Her nursing career commenced with General Nursing at St James Hospital, Dublin and Midwifery at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda.  She obtained her BNS degree in UCD, a BSc (Hons) in Neonatal Studies (2001) in Southampton University (the first programme for ANPs in neonatology in the UK) and an MSc from UCD (2002). Christine was one of the participants for the Nurse Prescribing Pilot Project in 2003 and successfully completed the Certificate programme in 2008 and the Prescription of ionising radiation by Nurses certificate in 2016.

Her areas of research, audit and project work include neonatal abstinence syndrome on which she has presented widely, prevention and management of hypothermia in the newborn, nutrition, clinical risk, development of a neonatal early warning tool and infection prevention.  She is heavily involved with nurse/midwifery education providing lecture support on midwifery programmes in Trinity College, Dublin, Post Graduate Diploma in Nursing (Neonatal Intensive Care) and Foundation Programme in Neonatal Nursing part 1 and 2 through RCSI.  Christine is part of the group that proposed and developed the MSc Advanced Practice/PG Certificate Advanced Practice (Neonatology) through RCSI.  In 2007 she was part of the sub-committee set up by the Maternity Strategy Implementation Group to review models of care and workforce planning.  As a member of the (NCPPN) Parentral nutrition group she was involved in developing national standards for Parentral Nutrition in Paediatrics and Neonatology; advising on requirements, developing a national guideline and eLearning programme on HseLand and liaising with suppliers and government funding bodies.

She has been a member of the IAANMP since its foundation, a committee member since 2013.

Ms. Karen Brennan. Registered Advanced Nurse Practitioner [Emergency]

Karen was the chairperson of the association from 2014 to 2018, promoting Advanced Nurse Midwifery practice at a national and International level. She is the current International liaison officer for the association, and a member of the ICN Advanced Practice subgroup. For the past 12 years she has worked in the Emergency Department of South Tipperary General Hospital, providing care for both the adult and paediatric patient . A graduate of Trinity College, Karen’s qualifications include a Postgraduate diploma in clinical practice and an MSc degree. She is a registered Nurse Tutor and a registered Nurse Prescriber in both ionising radiation and medicinal products.Her career includes a three year term as clinical facilitator in Emergency Nursing in University Hospital Waterford and Waterford Institute of technology. She is an honorary teaching associate with the Royal College of Surgeons, Ireland.

Mr. David Delaney
David is the newly elected Secretary. He currently works in the Emergency Department of University Hospital Limerick. David graduated from the University of Tasmania in Australia and started his career in cardiac care. From there he worked in the Intensive care units of the Royal Hobart Hospital, Tasmania, the Royal Prince Alfred, Sydney, St. James Hospital, Dublin and University Hospital Limerick. He is currently a Clinical Skills Facilitator in the Emergency Department of University Hospital Limerick. He has previously studied a postgraduate diploma in Intensive Care Nursing with NUI Galway and is currently in his dissertation year of this Masters in Advanced Nursing Care also with NUI Galway. David will be a registered Advanced Nurse Practitioner once his MSc is complete. David also holds a position on the student subgroup of the International Council of Nurses NP/APN network.