A SENSE OF BELONGING

Reema Waqar and Reem Al Shimali recipients of the 2020 Professor Tom Farrell Neurosciene Award

RCSI Biological Society Inaugural Meeting 2019

RCSI Biological Society Inaugural Meeting 2014.

Founded in 1931, the RCSI Biological Society remains popular among students. Its Faculty President for the last two years, Professor Camilla Carroll, gives an insider’s view of the much-loved organisation

R CSI is home to one of Europe’s longest established student societies, the Biological Society (BioSoc).  e Society was founded in 1931 by the then RCSI Professor of Biology and medical historian, Dr John Widdess, himself a medical school graduate of RCSI. Society recruitment takes place during Freshers Week when each society “sets out their stall” and hopes for the best.

BioSoc elects its own governing council and the council elects a student and a

Faculty President to oversee activities for a one- or two-year term of o ce.  e

Faculty President, in consultation with council committee members, chooses an overarching theme for the societal year. Over the past two years the theme has been “equity of opportunity” in the delivery of safe surgery in low-income economies and in technological advancements in the delivery of health care.

Professor Geraghty and Ms Anne Cleary of Aidlink Ireland shared their stories of working in Ethiopia during the famine in the 1980s.

Professor Arnold Hill, Head of the School of Medicine and Professor Cathal

Kelly, Chief Executive, o er personal encouragement and engagement with

BioSoc.  e family of Dr  rench O’Carroll continue to be generous with their time and  nancial support through the awarding of the  rench O’Carroll Medal. A lively Anatomy Quiz is adjudicated by Professor Clive Lee in the late autumn, with the winner awarded the Harold Browne Anatomy Medal in memory of the late General Surgeon and RCSI anatomy prosector, Professor Harold Browne.

An annual highlight is the student awards ceremony held in the Albert  eatre in January at which the medals and certi cates for the various competitions are presented and the outgoing presidents hand over their chains of o ce to the incoming presidents. At this meeting, BioSoc founder, Dr John Widdess is honoured when the Faculty President’s invited speaker delivers the Widdess Lecture.

I have had the honour and privilege of being the Faculty President of the RCSI Biological Society for the past two years. I have worked alongside the Student Council and Presidents Safari Aketch (2019) and Githmi Plahepitiya (2020). Being in the company of these dedicated and committed medical students is truly inspiring. I believe our future doctors should be empowered to speak-up for social justice for all. I am truly grateful for the opportunity that “Belonging to the RCSI Biological Society” has given me to start this conversation with our student members. A society steeped in the history of our great University is still  t for purpose.

DR DANYAL Z KHAN, MRCSI

(Medicine, 2018), Academic Foundation Trainee (Neuroscience) – University of Cambridge, Student President, BioSoc 2017

“ e Society is the oldest and most prestigious society in our University.  rough its educational competitions, it challenges students and inspires them towards academic excellence.  rough its annual addresses, it cultivates ideas worth thinking about.  rough its collaboration between faculty and students, it connects motivated mentees with dedicated mentors. As a junior student, BioSoc events were formative and I was delighted to later have the opportunity to lead the Society in my penultimate year.”

PROFESSOR CLIVE LEE

Professor of Anatomy and Head of Department of Anatomy Medicine, Faculty President, BioSoc, 2013

“As Faculty President of BioSoc, you get to see RCSI from the students’ perspective – what works and what doesn’t in the University – and to get to know what students are like these days, which can be a very helpful insight into one’s own family, of the same age.  ey are remarkably idealistic, hard-working and excellent dinner guests, but they also like to party!”

Dr Gozie Offi ah with RCSI medical student members of BioSoc.

DR GOZIE OFFIAH, MB, MMedSc, MD

MMedSc (Class of 2005), Senior Judge, BioSoc Senior Case Competitions 2019, 2020

“I have had the honour and privilege of being a judge at the BioSoc Senior Case competitions for the past two years. BioSoc attests to RCSI’s mission to educate, nurture and discover for the bene t of human health. BioSoc provides a platform for students to shine, develop their skills and become true leaders in the delivery of health care, through numerous events. As a judge of the senior case competitions, I have been amazed at the very high standards that our students at RCSI bring.  e students are challenged to be the best they can be, and I have watched them acquire skills, gain con dence and transform into incredible health care professionals, who will no doubt make a real di erence.”

DR KATIE DUNLEAVY

Internal Medicine Resident, Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, Student President, BioSoc 2018

“I was the student president of BioSoc in my  nal year of graduate entry medicine at RCSI in 2018. Leading the oldest medical student society in Europe seemed a daunting task at  rst, but those fears quickly dissipated when I realised the strength of the student team, student services and the wonderful mentorship of the two BioSoc Faculty Presidents – Professor James Paul O’Neill and Professor Deborah McNamara – who dedicated countless hours to making this society a success.

“During my student presidency, the 85th Widdess Lecture was given by Dr Austin O’Carroll, a primary care physician in Dublin whose practice cares almost exclusively for the homeless. His care, compassion and clinical training of GPs has allowed a new generation of doctors to make a di erence to the lives of the homeless in Irish society. His account le a lasting impression on the student body. In these times of COVID-19 in New York City, the health care disparities we face are ever apparent. I hope as physicians we can make an e ort to provide comfort, kindness and treatment to all those who need it, regardless of socioeconomic status.

BioSoc is not only a society to celebrate academic achievement, but a way to bring students together in an intimate setting to meet with consultants and mentors in collegial academic competitions. BioSoc greatly enriched my student life at RCSI and helped me to prepare for competitive residency training in the US. I am now in my second year of residency in internal medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in NYC. Since February, we have been managing COVID-19 patients in our ICUs and dedicated COVID-19 wards. I am grateful for the leadership of our Chair of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Dr Barbara Murphy (Medicine) during these challenging times. ^