Mark has responsibility for overseeing the direction and ongoing development of professional education and research in the faculty. The role has responsibility for creating and strengthening strategic professional education and research partnerships with national and international nursing or healthcare organisations, academic institutions, national and EU research sponsors and government agencies. He was recently appointed as the Irish representative to the EU COST Action CA22152 – supporting the emerging care economy, empowering caregivers to provide safe care at home (BETTERCARE) which was established to ensure error-free care environments at home. The action will re-think national, and international deinstitutionalised policies, assuring the same care safety at home as the one received in residential facilities. The action will focus on assessing the available resources required to meet the qualification threshold and modify the supports available for the management of risk of caregiving and dispensing medications at home.
Prior to his appointment in 2023, Mark held a variety of senior positions in academia and the health services including; Vice President of Research, Innovation and Graduate Studies at Ireland’s newest university, South East Technological University – SETU – where he had responsibility for growing and developing the research, innovation and postgraduate support programmes at the university; Programme Manager on the Programme for Health Service Improvement, Senior Lecturer in the School of Nursing and Midwifery in University of Galway and he was the Area Director of Nursing and Midwifery Planning and Development in the HSE where he managed a number of national nursing and midwifery projects with the Office of the Nursing and Midwifery Director (ONMSD) whilst overseeing the commissioning of post-graduate education, professional development, research and leadership for all nurses and midwives in the southern region.