18 minute read
Doing the Rounds
from RCSI Alumni Magazine 2022
by RCSI
NEWS, APPOINTMENTS AND CAMPUS UPDATES
RCSI has been named University of the Year for Student Engagement in the new edition of The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2022. The award recognises RCSI’s top performance among higher education institutions in Ireland across the measures where data is available for student engagement.
RCSI won the inaugural award primarily for its efforts to negate the impact of the pandemic on students. Initiatives to support students included the University’s simulation facilities being deployed to mimic a clinical setting when access to ‘live’ clinical sites was restricted. A satellite campus was established at Croke Park to accommodate 650 students, ensuring essential face-to-face interaction required for training health professionals continued within a hybrid model of teaching. To connect students with each other, learning community ‘bubbles’ were established in consultation with the students union and class representatives. These allowed for small group teaching and safe lab access. To protect students, an on-campus RCSI screening centre was set up along with pop-up centres at teaching hospitals where over 9,000 swab tests were carried out in the first twelve months of the pandemic.
Many students volunteered in intensive care units or became contract tracers. Examinations were brought forward by seven weeks in 2020 to allow early graduation for the University’s 300-plus medical students.
Alastair McCall, editor of The Sunday Times Good University Guide, said: “The shadow campus at Croke Park was typical of the vision RCSI brought to bear on the pandemic, allowing students to study in as normal conditions as possible, while the opportunities to volunteer on the frontline both prevented student isolation and helped them engage directly with the pandemic through their chosen profession. This was higher education at its very best – of benefit to society and students alike.”
STUDENT ENGAGEMENT AT RCSI BAHRAIN
RCSI Bahrain has launched its Student Engagement and Partnership (StEP) programme. Co-developed by RCSI Bahrain students and staff, the programme aims to promote and implement a culture of partnership and inclusivity, where the expertise and perspectives of both staff and students are equally valued. The StEP programme is scaffolded around a framework of four domains: StEP in Institutional Management; StEP in the Academic Research Community; StEP in the Local Community and the Social Environment and StEP in Teaching and Assessment. Under each domain, key partnership projects will be led by students and staff who will work together to enhance student participation and enrich their journey. The StEP programme has more than 30 staff and students working on 17 different projects across the four domains.
President of RCSI Bahrain, Professor Sameer Otoom commented: “RCSI Bahrain acknowledges the importance of student and staff collaboration to enhance the delivery of our educational programmes and our student support systems, improving our students’ overall experience and preparing them to become future leaders in healthcare.”
RCSI Results Day
The final results of over 300 medical students at RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences were delivered in a live reading on 17 May. In a tradition that has been running for more than 60 years, the final year results were read out from the stairs at the RCSI campus at St Stephen’s Green. Students gathered in person and via livestream to hear their results and celebrate as they embark on
Fatemah Alshammari, Bibi Alsahaf and Ayat Abul on Results Day. their new career as doctors. The students were congratulated by Professor Hannah McGee, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, and Professor Arnold Hill, Head of the RCSI School of Medicine, and RCSI Vice Chancellor and CEO, Professor Cathal Kelly.
WHITE COAT CEREMONIES
More than 770 students took part in White Coat Ceremonies in March. Students were invited by Professor P Ronan O’Connell, RCSI President, to make a commitment to professionalism that mirrors the graduates’ declaration recited at their conferring day. The declaration signals the responsibilities they must begin to undertake as future health professionals from the start of their academic training.
Daragh Browne and Jade Sleator
RCSI RETAINS POSITION IN TOP 250 UNIVERSITIES WORLDWIDE
RCSI has been ranked among the top 250 universities worldwide, for the sixth consecutive year, in the 2022 Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings. RCSI has maintained its worldwide position in the #201-250 category and ranks joint second out of the nine ranked institutions in the Republic of Ireland. The THE World University Rankings 2022 includes 1,662 universities across 99 countries and regions.
RCSI’s global focus and collaboration is also recognised in this year’s league table with the University rising to 45th in the world in the “International Outlook” category. The result follows on from RCSI’s strong performance in the THE Impact Rankings published in April this year. This saw the University ranked joint second in the world for its contribution to the United Nations Sustainable Goal 3 “Good Health and Wellbeing”.
Professor Cathal Kelly, RCSI Vice Chancellor and CEO, praised the commitment and innovation of students, faculty, researchers and professional staff who have continued to conduct world-class research and deliver an engaging academic experience despite the immense challenges of the pandemic. “RCSI’s particularly strong performance in the research elements of the league table is also evidence of our continued emphasis on the patient-focused research of our academics, clinicians and educators and of our growing reputation for impact in the field of human health.”
NEW UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMME TO RESPOND TO GLOBAL HEALTHCARE CHALLENGES
A new undergraduate programme in Advanced Therapeutic Technologies will increase the employability of graduates by equipping them with the technical knowledge, skills and competencies required to become global leaders in healthcare innovation and technology in the biopharmaceutical and related industries. The BSc in Advanced Therapeutic Technologies, which will commence in September 2022, is an innovative four-year programme designed for students to develop extensive, future-focused scientific knowledge, technical skills and transversal competencies. The programme development has been funded by a recent €7.8m grant from the Higher Education Authority Human Capital Initiative to RCSI’s School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, to expand the School’s focus on emerging and future pharma technologies.
The programme has been designed, said Dr Ben Ryan, Programme Director “to develop science innovators fit to tackle the most pressing healthcare-related scientific challenges of our time. This programme aims to train the global biopharma industry leaders of the future.” The programme includes an eight-month work placement in Year 3, either in Ireland or overseas. Applications for the programme can be made through the normal CAO process.
NEW POSTGRADUATE PROGRAMME IN PRECISION MEDICINE
A new postgraduate programme in precision medicine, the MSc in Technologies and Analytics in Precision Medicine, has been developed as part of the recent €7.8m grant awarded from the Higher Education Authority Human Capital Initiative to RCSI’s School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, to expand the School’s focus on emerging and future pharma technologies. The programme is being developed collaboratively with leading national and multinational bio-pharma companies as well as other enterprise partners, with expertise across a broad range of innovative healthcare technologies, including personalised medicine, genomics, machine learning, big data and data analytics and connected health.
“The life sciences sectors is experiencing an evolution in health and healthcare,” said Professor Tracy Robson, Head of RCSI’s School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, “characterised by the fusion of the digital, biological and physical worlds. Ireland has the opportunity to position itself at the forefront of a new wave of therapeutic technologies through the availability of an educated workforce.”
Deputy Head of RCSI’s School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, Professor Brian Kirby, added: “This programme will have a dual focus, developing technological capabilities and transversal skills including teamwork, communication, innovation and leadership. This combination of skillsets will aim to drive creativity and flexibility in a modern workforce.”
The first intake of students began in September 2021. A flexible programme gives students the option of one year full-time or two years parttime and is delivered through blended learning, with online and face-to-face lectures.
VACCINE EQUITY
Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus
During a keynote address at The Times Higher Education (THE) University Impact Forum: Health and Wellbeing, in partnership with RCSI, World Health Organization Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stressed the importance of vaccine equity, as the delta variant of the coronavirus surged among unvaccinated populations.
Over two days in July 2021, the forum brought together thought leaders and experts from higher education to share research, ideas and solutions that address the global health conditions and diseases that impact human outcomes around the world.
Dr Tedros said: “Vaccine nationalism, where a handful of nations have taken the lion’s share, is morally indefensible and an ineffective public health strategy.” Dr Mike Ryan, Executive Director of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme, also called for better action by governments, urging countries to support COVAX and the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator so that all countries can get the diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines they need. Dr Ryan said: “We have a two-tier pandemic and it is having real consequences for people.”
Professor Hannah McGee, RCSI Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, said that research on the pandemic must prioritise human and political behaviour: “We need to get much better at understanding what it is that countries who have fared better in this pandemic are doing. Basic individual behaviours make a difference, and basic political decisions make enormous differences.”
The event included masterclasses on post-pandemic health and wellbeing. The forum addressed the role that universities can and should play in promoting sustainability and development to advance health and equity post-pandemic.
An Honorary Fellowship for Dr Tony Holohan
Dr Tony Holohan
In June 2021, Ireland’s Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan received an Honorary Fellowship from RCSI, in recognition of his outstanding leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic. As Chief Medical Officer in the Department of Health, Dr Holohan led the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) in providing national direction and expert advice on the development and implementation of Ireland’s response to the pandemic.
RCSI President, Professor P Ronan O’Connell, said: “Dr Holohan’s contribution to Irish healthcare long predates the pandemic, yet this will be his legacy,” while Professor Cathal Kelly, RCSI Vice Chancellor and
CAE Healthcare and RCSI have forged a collaboration to advance healthcare education, technology and research through simulation. CAE, a healthcare training company, also designated the RCSI SIM Centre for Simulation Education and Research a certified Centre of Excellence, the first of its kind in Europe. This partnership gives RCSI trainees, students and partners access to CAE healthcare simulation technology, some of the most advanced in the world.
RCSI’s award-winning simulation centre contains many elements of a real hospital setting, including inpatient rooms, outpatient clinical settings, a birthing suite and a full operating theatre, as well as an emergency and trauma facility where students acquire skills in safe learning environments, developing key skills before engaging with real patients in hospital settings. RCSI SIM incorporates the National Surgical and Clinical Skills Centre, where professionals and trainees can develop essential skills and collaborative approaches to team-based care before working with real patients.
“This collaboration reinforces the commitment we share with RCSI SIM to develop new, evidence-based practices and training technologies for tomorrow’s clinicians,” said Heidi Wood, President of CAE Healthcare. “As the first CAE Centre of Excellence in Europe, RCSI SIM has a valuable role in joining with us to advocate for simulation-based education and its ability to advance healthcare and ensure patient safety.” Professor Walter Eppich, RCSI Chair of Simulation, said: “Through collaborative research with CAE Healthcare, we look forward to improving patient safety and outcomes through healthcare simulation, education and applied research.”
RCSI SIM uses highly immersive simulation modalities, including highfidelity patient simulators that represent complex critical illness and enable integration of team and procedural skill training in a variety of fields: emergency medicine, surgery, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, neurology, anesthesia, nursing and other clinical specialties. An integrated audiovisual and centre management system connects RCSI SIM’s simulationbased learning environments with performance assessment tools. This system, CAE LearningSpace, enables recording of simulation activities, including live streaming of training, and affords the opportunity for video review and reflection on individual and team performance.
CEO, said, “Under Dr Holohan’s stewardship, early and decisive action was taken, putting Ireland in a stronger position to manage the first wave of the virus than our neighbours to the east and the west. Since then, as we have moved through three waves, Dr Holohan has been steadfast and consistent in putting the health of Irish people first.”
Professor Zena Moore
PROFESSOR RECEIVES LIFETIME AWARD
Professor Zena Moore, Head of the School of Nursing and Midwifery and Director of the Skin Wounds and Trauma Reseach Centre, received a Life Achievement Award from the World Union of Wound Healing Societies in March 2022. Founded in Australia in 2000, the World Union of Wound Healing Societies is the premier wound care professional association. The award recognises the contribution of Professor Moore to the advancement of wound care.
A registered nurse with a PhD and an MSc in Wound Healing and Tissue Repair, Professor Moore is the European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel Chair of the International Guideline Governance Group. Professor Moore has published over 276 articles, guidelines, consensus documents and book chapters on the area of wound healing and tissue repair.
The Skin Wounds and Trauma (SWaT) Research Centre is leading cutting-edge research in the field of wound healing and tissue repair, with a specific emphasis on pressure ulcer prevention and management. The Centre aims to translate evidence into contemporary clinical decision-making, and to provide a platform for outcome-focused healthcare practice.
RACE EQUALITY ACTION PLAN
RCSI has published a three-year Race Equality Action Plan outlining the steps the University will take to improve the representation, progression and success of students, trainees and staff from minority groups at RCSI. The first to be published by a university in Ireland, RCSI’s Race Equality Action Plan reinforces its commitment to ensuring that the experience of students, trainees and staff is defined by
The sod has been turned on a new €22m Education and Research Centre at Connolly Hospital in Blanchardstown, Dublin which will be completed by February 2024. The centre will join the Smurfit Building Education and Research Centre at Beaumont Hospital as RCSI’s second clinical centre of academic excellence in Ireland. Connolly Hospital is an integral part of the RCSI campus and this future-focused development reflects the University’s commitment to the hospital and the broader RCSI Hospital Group. It will greatly enhance the student experience for the Graduate Entry Medicine students based at Connolly and for other RCSI students on clinical placement at the hospital and will provide increased capacity for RCSI’s translational research. It will include a new paediatric allergy research centre alongside the recently opened CHI Ambulatory Paediatric Facility.
The building has been designed by McCauley Daye O’Connell using the Energy Efficient Design approach to meet the highest standards in energy efficiency, with electricity production on site, green roofs, rainwater harvesting, use of heat pumps, natural ventilation and use of the most highly energyefficient building materials available.
RCSI President, Professor Ronan O’Connell, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar and RCSI Students’ Union President, Jyoti Dhawan
UN DEPUTY SECRETARY GENERAL AT RCSI
The 29th Carmichael Lecture (named after former President of RCSI, Richard Carmichael) was delivered in February by Ms Amina J Mohammed, Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations. Delegates gathered both in person at RCSI and online for the prestigious address. As part of the day’s proceedings, Ms Mohammed was also awarded an Honorary Fellowship, the College’s highest distinction.
Ms Mohammed spoke about ‘Transforming Education to Transform our World by 2030’, recognising the many challenges currently being faced across the globe, particularly climate change and educational inequalities: “The time is right for a massive transformation, a rebirth of education worldwide, that will in turn transform the world, but no single country has the knowledge or research capacity to advance this alone. The global pandemic has taught us that. It’s taught us that we needed solidarity and a global response but it has laid bare the reality that, when we needed it most, we didn’t get it.”
Ms Amina Mohammed
respect, equality and inclusion.
The action plan includes the introduction of the Speak Out Tool which allows both staff and students to report incidences of racism, harassment or discrimination, through a new national online system, with signposting to areas of support. Other actions include a review of the healthcare curriculum to ensure greater representation of people of colour in teaching materials. This includes developing imagery of various illnesses which can present differently, according to skin tone, and also greater diversity in the simulated patients that healthcare students experience in their training.
The Race Equality Action Plan complements the University’s existing International Citizenship Programme which is run annually to encourage students to reflect on and develop the skills, values and attitudes they will need to work effectively in a culturally diverse healthcare environment.
RCSI ANNUAL ART AWARD
Domino Whisker has been announced as the winner of the 2021 RCSI Art Award. The prize was awarded to the artist for her work entitled ‘The Birds and I’.
Domino Whisker is a contemporary visual artist. Her first solo show ‘Remnants’ at the Atelier Now Gallery explored what is left behind after experiencing great loss – moments, memories, tangled threads of what was before. These works are the result of her piecing together fragments to make something whole again, for the sake of self-preservation.
The installation was selected from more than 320 works on display at the 191st RHA Annual Exhibition by artists working in paint, sculpture, drawing, print, photography and architecture. The other shortlisted artists were James English RHA, Martin Gale RHA and Vera Klute ARHA.
Professor Cathal Kelly, RCSI Vice
Chancellor and CEO said: “The annual
RCSI Art Award is a celebration of the common heritage of the RCSI and RHA and the longstanding association between art, medicine and wellbeing. We are delighted to present the sixth annual prize to Domino Whisker, an artist of exceptional talent.”
Whisker was awarded the €5,000 prize and the RCSI silver medal and will be invited to submit a proposal for a new work for 118 St Stephen’s Green, RCSI’s new ten-storey facility focused on the University’s important role in Ireland’s health agenda and global wellness initiatives.
RCSI Director of Development, Aíne Gibbons with artist Domino Whisker
A new painting by Colin Martin RHA, winner of the 2020 RCSI Art Award, in association with The Irish Times and the Royal Hibernian Academy (RHA) Annual Exhibition, has been officially unveiled at RCSI. The artwork, ‘Laboratory’, was commissioned by RCSI and created by Martin in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It depicts the surgical and clinical training laboratory in the National Surgical and Clinical Skills Centre.
Martin’s practice is situated in portraiture, still life, the interior and history painting, viewed through the prism of the technological age.
Colin Martin, RHA
RCSI GOES GREEN
RCSI has won the Best Green Campus Award at the annual Education Awards, which took place in April 2022.
The Education Awards recognise, encourage, and celebrate excellence in the third-level education sector on the island of Ireland from both State and privately funded institutions.
The award was made to RCSI in recognition of its strong commitment to making a positive environmental impact and contributing to a sustainable future. The award recognises the commitment of RCSI’s team to sustainability and its commitment to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
RCSI’s Green Campus committee, made up of volunteer staff members and students, ensures the sustainable use of resources across campuses, researches environmental issues through its academic departments and educates its students on environmental responsibility. To date, the committee has introduced a variety of initiatives across the areas of biodiversity, waste management, and energy efficiency that have succeeded in reducing gas consumption by 40%, improving energy efficiency by 38%, significantly reducing the use of reusable coffee cups and successfully using harvested rainwater in toilets. The opening of a 12,000 square metre sustainable building in York Street achieved LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) Gold accreditation for its best-in-class sustainable practices. RCSI currently
‘Laboratory’ by Colin Martin
has two building designs like this at planning stage and aims to achieve LEED Platinum and Gold accreditation for both on completion, by 2025.
Other initiatives include the planting of native trees, installation of boxes for birds and a wild flower meadow at its campus in north Dublin, and employing the Reduce, Recycle, Recover waste system in its waste and resource management in line with EU best practice. All general waste is sent to the Waste to Energy Plant in Dublin where it is transferred into renewable energy to support the generation of electricity for over 100,000 homes.
As well as the focused implementation of energy efficiency measures through capital projects and planned preventative maintenance, water consumption has been minimised in all campus buildings and student accommodation. RCSI has also leveraged the use of technology to enhance awareness of environmental issues amongst staff, students, alumni and visitors. ■
