Senior Professional Officer
Dr Carole McKenna joined NIPEC as a Senior Professional Officer in January 2009. Since then she led on a number of regional projects and initiatives on behalf of the Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) including A Workforce Plan for Nursing and Midwifery 2015 – 2025 (DoH, 2015) and A Career Framework and associated website for nursing and midwifery careers in Northern Ireland.
More recently, in partnership with stakeholders, she led the Advanced Nursing Practice: Analysis and Recommendations, launched by CNO in November 2023 followed by A Collective Leadership Framework for Nursing and Midwifery (DoH, 2024) which was launched by CNO in September 2024.
Carole is currently involved in the formation of an Advanced Practice Academy, the development of a New Career Model for Nursing and Midwifery and a Clinical Academic Career Pathway for Nurse Consultants in Northern Ireland.
She began her nurse training in 1987 at Holywell Hospital, Antrim. Working as a Mental Health Nurse and then as a Community Nursing Sister she began to develop a keen interest in Research and Practice Development. She worked at the RCN as a Senior Professional Fellow from 2000 – 2008 where she was extensively involved in multi-disciplinary research and practice development in primary care. During this time, she held a range of significant positions throughout Northern Ireland including Chair of the NI Multi-disciplinary Primary Care Forum and has been a member of the NI Multi-disciplinary Partnership for Clinical and Social Care Governance and the NI Forum for Health and Social Services Research. She also chaired a National Project in Scotland, on behalf of NHS Education for Scotland, to support and develop Career Pathways for Ward Sisters and Community Team Leaders.
Carole is a Registered Mental Health Nurse and holds a Diploma in Supervisory Management, a Higher Education Diploma in Community Mental Health Nursing, a BSc (Hons) in Nursing, a Post Graduate Diploma in Primary Health Care/General Practice. She won an R&D Fellowship to undertake a PhD at Ulster University from 2004 – 2007, supervised by Professor Hugh McKenna. She has contributed to over 50 publications, including policy reports, articles and books.