Abstract Background The role of the IBD nurse in Ireland has expanded significantly in recent years. The establishment of the National Clinical Programme in Gastroenterology and Hepatology in 2021 aimed to improve care for people with IBD through the establishment of additional advanced nursing posts and models of care that emphasise nurse-led triage, community support, and integrated services. This study provides updated national data on the role and level of practice of IBD nurses in Ireland following the introduction of this programme. Methods A cross-sectional online survey was conducted using an 88-item tool adapted from the UK National IBD Standards Survey (Mason et al., 2012) and informed by the Standards and Requirements for Clinical Nurse Specialists (NMBI, 2008). All members of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Nurses Association of Ireland (n = 78) were invited to participate in April 2025. Results Twenty-seven nurses from 19 hospitals completed the survey (response rate 35%). Job titles included IBD Clinical Nurse Specialist (n = 8; 30%), IBD Advanced Nurse Practitioner (n = 7; 26%), Candidate ANP (n = 7; 26%), and Clinical Nurse Manager II (n = 5; 19%), reflecting a diversifying and increasingly advanced workforce. Although many were new to their current post, most had extensive IBD experience and an average of over 20 years of post-registration practice. Caseloads varied widely, from 180 to over 6,000 patients, with services staffed by between 1–10 gastroenterologists and 1–6 IBD nurses, highlighting major variation in service size and capacity. Ten respondents reported unfilled posts, largely attributed to the national recruitment embargo, and most nurses reported working 1–2 hours of unpaid overtime weekly. Participants were highly qualified: most held a master’s degree (n = 10), 15 were registered prescribers, and 17 had completed an IBD-specific postgraduate programme—supported by the introduction of the Certificate in IBD Care at Munster Technological University in 2021. All respondents reported involvement in service improvement initiatives, and most were conducting audits within their IBD service. Conclusion IBD nursing in Ireland is expanding and becoming increasingly specialised, despite significant variation in service size and ongoing recruitment challenges. The workforce is highly educated, experienced, and actively engaged in service development. These findings offer important national benchmarking data to inform workforce planning, equitable access to specialist IBD care, and future education and career pathway development. Conflict of interest: Keogh, Aine M.: No conflict of interest Farrell, Dawn: No conflict of interest
Keogh et al. (Thu,) studied this question.