Department of Nursing and Midwifery

1990: To upgrade the quality of nurse training in line with international requirements, a department was established at the Rīga Medical Institute (now Rīga Stradiņš University) in 1990 to train nurses with higher education, in accordance with the Latvian healthcare concept. The speciality was given the title of academic nurse.

1990/1991: This academic year marks the beginning of a new educational project, focused on patient care and education. 25 applicants were admitted to the higher education programme with the compulsory admission requirement for a medical school education and practical experience in nursing. Visiting lecturers from the USA, among them nurse Prof. Zaiga Priede-Kalniņš and nurse Prof. Irēne Kalniņa, contributed greatly to the work of the Department of Academic Nursing.

1993 & 1994: On 1 July 1993, the Department of Academic Nursing was renamed the Faculty of Academic Nursing. By Rector's Decree No 07/3 of 25 January 1994, the Faculty of Academic Nursing was renamed the Faculty of Nursing. In 1994, the first 20 nurses, who were graduates of the Faculty of Nursing, were registered for the first time in the history of Latvia.

1993-1996: The development of the Master’s programme in nursing started in the autumn of 1993. The overall theme was the role of nurses in health promotion. The programme was launched in 1996.

2008: The US Ambassador to Latvia, Catherine Todd-Bailey, initiated the Faculty's cooperation with Bellarmine University in Louisville, Kentucky, USA, which specialises in nursing. Two exchange visits between the faculty members of the two universities took place, and it resulted in the signing of the cooperation agreement between both universities.

2010: On 31 March 2010, RSU applied to the committee that is responsible for licensing study programmes for licensing a professional higher education bachelor’s study programme in midwifery, which would give the qualification of chief midwife. At a meeting on 29 May 2010, the Committee decided to issue a licence a full-time Midwifery study programme in Riga. 

2014: From 1 July 2014, the Faculty of Nursing merged with the Faculty of Public Health to form the Faculty of Public Health and Social Welfare. Additionally, the Academic School of Nursing, which operated under the Faculty of Nursing, was transformed into the Department of Nursing and Midwifery. Asst. Prof. Liāna Deklava, MD, PhD, was appointed as Head of the Department.

As study programmes developed and the number of students increased, new lecturers joined the department. The department’s staff participated in several international projects (OnBoard-Med and NURED) and organised several scientific-practical conferences in cooperation with medical institutions. Since 2022, annual scientific-practical conferences have been organised in cooperation with the nursing programmes at the University of Latvia and Pauls Stradiņš Clinical University Hospital.

2018/2019: In 2018-2019, Lecturer Eva Cela and Asst. Prof. Kristaps Circenis participated in a Ministry of Health working group that developed the professional standards for general nurses.

2019: Asst. Prof. Kristaps Circenis (MD, PhD) becomes the Head of the Department of Nursing and Midwifery on 1 July.

2023: On1 February, Asst. Prof. Agita Melbārde-Kelmere, Asst. Prof. Kristaps Circenis, Acting Lecturer Ilona Zariņa, and Acting Assistant Evija Melbārde started participating in the ERASMUS+ project "Ethco – For Better Ethical Safety in Future Health Care Environments" in cooperation with the project’s lead partner Turku University of Applied Sciences.

2024: On1 April, Asst.Prof. Agita Melbārde-Kelmere, Asst.Prof. Kristaps Circenis, Acting Lecturer Ilona Zariņa, Acting Assistant Evija Melbārde, Acting Assistant Aiga Lasmane and METC Head of Development of simulation-based Education Madara Blumberga, Simulation instructor Diāna Grase, and Simulation instructor Ligija Vucāne started participating in the ERASMUS+ project “Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment Skills Education Programme for Nurses - Can You See the Big Picture? ("BigPicture")” in cooperation with the project’s lead partner Turku University of Applied Sciences.