Only a month after the society’s official launch, DU Nursing and Midwifery Society (DUNMS) is enjoying great success, with close to 200 members already signed up and a myriad of events and trips in the works over the coming few months. Chairperson Ida Lis sat down with The University Times to talk about the society’s hopes for the future, why it was set up and what its members can look forward to next term.
A second-year nursing student and Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union Nursing Convener, Lis has now added society chairperson to her impressive list of College commitments. Lis explained that she only managed to get involved in September, when founders Jennifer Daunt and Mary McGovern were struggling to set up the group on top of their demanding placements and intense workloads. Since taking over, Lis has successfully organised the official launch of the society, alongside a movie screening and also has a trip to Belfast in the works.
The society, Lis explained, is aimed at filling the major void felt by many nursing and midwifery students in their College experience whose challenging schedules, with both placement and lectures, make it incredibly difficult to get involved in other societies on campus. With the sorts of books listed on a site like www.testprepselect.com/medical-nursing/best-mcat-books/ that nursing students would most likely have to read as part of their course/exams, it is not hard to understand why this may lead to a lot of stress. But with this being said, completing an exam and course as extensive as nursing must be rewarding when you graduate. Lis stressed the society’s goal to organise events that work with students timetables and to ensure that major events don’t take place when members are on placement. “It’s really important to us that we have events spread throughout the year so that all of our members can take part”, she said.
The society hopes to provide for nursing and midwifery students all the things that many feel they have missed out on over the years. Lis feels that not only have they have missed out on social events but also the network of support that societies can provide members. Thus, the society is hell-bent on using events and meetups to boost the mental wellbeing of nursing and midwifery students. “I hope it improves the college experience for our members”, she said. “They are tough courses mentally, so the more friends and support you can get, the better.”
The group will hopefully provide a safe haven of sorts for students to discuss all the woes and triumphs of their courses. “There’s some stuff you can’t talk about with other friends because they just think it’s gross, but nursing and midwifery students will laugh at the same stuff, and we’ll cry at the same stuff”, she explained. “You are all going through the same experience.”
Also of central importance to the society is bringing the two sides of the school of nursing and midwifery together. “I realised that as a student in second year, and having friends in third year, none of us knew any midwives…and we’re all in one building?”, Lis exclaimed dismayed. Thus, Lis and the rest of her committee hope to unite the two schools through a variety of events, from movie nights to pub quizzes to group trips. The committee consists of a mix of both nursing and midwifery students which has opened up a dialogue between the two courses. This, she feels, evidences the will of the two courses to come together to bolster the growth of the new society.
The committee also has three first-year students, something of a rarity for most society committees on campus. Ida explained that she thinks “it’s especially important for first years to feel a part of the society. They’re new to college and looking to get involved in what they can and are great for attending events”. Indeed, it seems that Lis has cracked the code to successfully launching a new society through this first year involvement, which has boosted event attendance and established a unique dynamic within the committee.
Lis pointed out that by getting first years involved now, the foundational ambitions of the new society will remain intact and hopefully be realised under their leadership in the coming years. DUNMS hopes to continue to grow, to stage innovative events that will unite the nursing and midwifery school, to host charity events and draw attention to issues important to members of the society, such as concerns regarding the construction of the National Maternity Hospital. Lis, her committee, and members of the society certainly have high hopes for the future and if its inaugural month is anything to go by, DUNMS is sure to see many of these come to fruition next semester.
