Rachel Kenna, Chief Nursing Officer visits UCD for a fireside chat with Prof. Maria Brenner

We were delighted to welcome Rachel Kenna, Chief Nursing Officer with the Department of Health for a fireside chat event with staff and students recently. The event was facilitated by Prof. Maria Brenner, Professor of Children's Nursing and Assoc. Dean for Global Engagement. 

Rachel discussed her career to date and how she never aspired to work in a leadership position, having described herself as a "reluctant leader". Despite this reluctance, it is easy to see how Rachel has developed into a natural and very successful leader. Having been instrumental in the roll out of the Covid-19 vaccination programme during the pandemic, Rachel has led out on numerous policies and initiatives to help her fellow nurse and midwife and ultimately the patient and their families. Rachel was recognised for this (opens in a new window)commitment with a UCD Alumni Award recently and was only too delighted to come back to the Belfield campus to share some words of wisdom for the next generation of nurses and midwives. 

We wish to extend a thank you to Rachel for taking the time out of her busy schedule to share her inspirational story.