Kathyann Barrett is joined by Dr Ray Healy, NMBI’s Director of Registration, to unpack one of the regulator’s core functions: maintaining the nursing and midwifery register.
From Irish and EU-trained nurses with streamlined pathways, to UK applicants navigating post-Brexit changes, to the thousands of nurses arriving from India, the Philippines, and beyond, Ray explains the complexities of recognising qualifications and the rigorous steps involved in ensuring only those meeting the highest standards are licensed to practise.
He also reflects on global challenges — from conflicts that disrupt access to documentation, to the balance between fairness for applicants and the regulator’s duty to protect the public.
The conversation covers the annual renewal process, the digitisation of NMBI’s systems, and the supports available for applicants along the way. Ultimately, it highlights the constant balancing act between efficiency, fairness, and safeguarding public trust.
THINGS WE SPOKE ABOUT
GUEST DETAILS
Dr Ray Healy is NMBI’s Director of Registration. He is a Registered General Nurse, having worked in orthopaedic and neurosurgical settings across public and private services at St James's Hospital, Dublin, in the NHS England, and in the Beacon and Hermitage hospitals in Dublin.
Prior to his appointment to NMBI in 2021, Ray was a Project Officer in the Chief Nursing Officer’s Office in the Department of Health, project managing the safe nurse staffing and skill mix brief. Ray was also appointed as the secretariat for the Expert Review Body of Nursing and Midwifery and brought the Body’s report to publication in 2022. Ray holds a Master's degree in Leadership from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and recently completed his Doctorate in Nursing from London South Bank University, which focused on how nurses in an acute care setting define the care they provide.
At NMBI, Ray leads a team responsible for the registration of nurses and midwives from Ireland, the EU and outside the EU. Ray has worked to reduce the timeframe taken to assess applications from overseas candidates as Director. He also leads on the annual registration renewal of registrants every year.
MORE INFORMATION
NMBI is the statutory body which sets the standards for the education, registration and professional conduct of nurses and midwives. We advise on how nurses and midwives should provide care to patients, their families and society. Our mission is to protect the public and the integrity of the professions of nursing and midwifery through the promotion of high standards of education, training, and professional conduct. We achieve this by providing leadership to registered nurses and midwives to support them to deliver safe care through innovative and proactive professional regulation.
Our functions in safeguarding the public involve establishing and maintaining the Register of Nurses and Midwives. We also establish procedures and criteria for the assessment and registration of nurses and midwives. Visit the Registration section of our website to learn more. Additionally, we set the standards and requirements for nursing and midwifery education programmes. We approve education programmes and further education programmes for the purposes for nurses and midwives. Visit NMBI.ie to learn more.
QUOTES
• Being on the register means you have a legal title in this country — it gives you a license to practice as a nurse or midwife. – Dr. Ray Healy
• That’s the daily challenge we’re faced with — making sure someone has the right qualifications while not deterring people we badly need in the workforce. – Dr. Ray Healy
• It’s one of those random consequences of Brexit that people mightn’t be aware of — suddenly the evidence we used to rely on isn’t there, and applicants are left frustrated. – Dr. Ray Healy
• It may come across as pedantic, but it’s about public safety — we need clear evidence that someone is in good standing, even if conflict or politics makes that harder. – Dr. Ray Healy
• It’s not your fault if you can’t get the documents, but it’s not my fault either. I can’t put you on the register just because you can’t get documents — it’s an impossible balance we have to strike every day. – Dr. Ray Healy
• We sit in that space between policy, operations, and patient safety — regulation is where the rules are put into practice. – Dr. Ray Healy
KEYWORDS
#Nursing #Midwifery #HealthcareRegulation #NMBI #NMBIVoice #NurseRegistration #PublicSafety #NurseLife #BrexitImpact #GlobalNursing #IrishHealthcare #SafePractice