Meet Clarity Locums' New Agency Nurse Manager

My name is Máire and I’ve had the pleasure of joining the Clarity Locums nursing team recently as their agency nurse manager. This is an area that I am really passionate about as I have had first-hand experience working as an agency nurse in both public and private facilities across Ireland myself. From a nurse’s perspective, there’s no worse feeling than the worry of being short staffed on the ward and how this might impact the patients that you care for. There were many days I had this experience and truly know what it’s like! I feel honoured to be in the position now where I can find nurses that can help bridge the staffing gap and deliver the high quality healthcare that our patients nationwide deserve.

I come from a background of being dual-qualified in both children’s and general nursing and I’ve worked in both Ireland and the Middle East. This has led to me having a greater understanding of the various different specialities and their acute recruitment needs. I started my training in Dublin, where I was affiliated with both Temple Street and MMUH. I spent a few wonderful years in MMUH honing my nursing skills before gaining further experience in the Cleveland Clinic in the UAE.

Living abroad was an amazing experience where I got to travel the world and also gain insight into how healthcare facilities operate in a different country. I’ve made some amazing friends and had the chance to work alongside some of the best doctors and nurses in the world. Honestly, above all the experience made me appreciate our own Irish healthcare system even more. It definitely has its flaws and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t! However, it has come to my attention that we have some of the best nurses working in Ireland- both Irish and overseas trained.

I’m excited in my job to hopefully find those great nurses and match them up to suitable agency roles. It’s clear since the pandemic that there’s a mass exodus of nurses from permanent positions and more nurses are choosing to work as agency nurses every day. In the last year alone five of my good friends have left their permanent positions to work as agency nurses! Having a background as a nurse helps me understand the language so I’m not coming from a recruiter perspective, but as a genuine nurse who knows what it’s like to be in the field. When they say “step into someone’s shoes”, I literally still have a pair of those nursing Skechers shoes!

For any prospective clients or nurses reading this, I’d be very happy to connect to see what it is you’re looking for and how I could support you with that. Feel free to send me a message on [email protected] or pick up the phone for a chat!