A Belfast fertility nurse has become the first in Northern Ireland to receive British Fertility Society certification to carry out embryo transfers and intrauterine inseminations.
Karen Lyttle, nurse manager at TFP Belfast Fertility, completed the society's specialist Embryo Transfer and IUI module. The qualification enables fertility nurses as well as doctors to undertake the supervised training and assessment required for the procedures.
Embryo transfer is the stage at which an embryo is placed in the uterus during fertility treatment. Expanding the role to a senior member of the nursing team means patients at the Belfast clinic can continue to receive care from staff who have supported them through earlier stages of treatment.
Lyttle joined the clinic as a senior midwife four years ago and moved into the nurse manager role two years later. Her earlier work centred on nursing and midwifery care for families during pregnancy and birth.
Her further training has also included British Fertility Society scanning certification and a graduate certificate in fertility ultrasound from University College Dublin. That work established her as the clinic's first advanced nurse scanner before she progressed to embryo transfer and IUI training.
The British Fertility Society lists embryo transfer and IUI among nine specialist certification modules in reproductive medicine. Its training route is open to fertility nurses and medically qualified practitioners and includes practical experience, formal study and assessed clinical work.
TFP Belfast Fertility lists Lyttle as its nurse manager and describes the Belfast centre as Northern Ireland's longest-standing private fertility clinic. The clinic has operated since 2013 and provides fertility assessment, IVF and related treatment.
The certification increases the specialist nursing capability available at the clinic while retaining the medical protocols and clinical oversight required for fertility procedures.