We are Family

RCSI has become a sibling tradition in many families, as multiple family members seek the same memorable student experience

Anyone who has ever spent time at RCSI will know that the University has educated many generations of the same families. It’s a tradition that continues to this day in RCSI’s campuses in Ireland, Bahrain and Malaysia, with children following not just in the footsteps of their parents – many of whom first met at RCSI – but their siblings too.

Dr Chandhu Paka (Class of 2007) & Dr Pavan Paka (Class of 2014)

Dr Chandhu Paka (Class of 2007) & Dr Pavan Paka (Class of 2014)

“I attended RCSI first and can say, without any hesitation, that it was the best time of my life,” says Dr Chandhu Paka (pictured above). “I absolutely influenced Pavan to come to RCSI!” Chandhu, a double fellowship-trained gynaecological surgeon, lives in New York and works at Mount Sinai West, while her younger brother, Dr Pavan Paka, is a graduating IM resident at Mount Sinai West/Morningside and will be starting his fellowship at Columbia in July. Even though the siblings’ time at RCSI did not overlap, Chandhu says she cherishes having had the opportunity to relive so many RCSI moments through Pavan’s eyes. “What an amazing thing to be able to listen to him recount his stories years after I graduated,” she says. “There were so many traditions that remained the same, but also so many new and exciting things happening. One of the best things about RCSI is that we are grounded in a rich tradition but are strongly progressive. As a family, I can say that Pavan’s grad week was the absolute best time. We had so much fun. Individually, we have countless memories of our time at RCSI. To top it off, we both made lifelong friendships. I am looking forward to coming back to Dublin this summer for the Alumni Gathering.”

Dr Sam Rai (Class of 2014) & Dr Aayushi Rai (Class of 2016)

Dr Sam Rai (Class of 2014) & Dr Aayushi Rai (Class of 2016)

Dr Sam Rai is currently completing a robotic urologic oncology fellowship at Swedish Medical Center in Seattle, under the tutelage of Dr James Porter, having graduated from a urologic surgery residency at University of Louisville, Kentucky. His sister, Dr Aayushi Rai is currently completing her neuroradiology fellowship at New York Presbyterian Hospital, Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City, having graduated from a diagnostic radiology residency at Boston University Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts.

Sam was the first of the siblings to attend RCSI. “I was extremely happy with the medical education I received, and particularly enjoyed the collegiality I experienced thanks to the diverse student population,” he says. “There were multiple opportunities for personal and professional development.”

Sam’s positive experience meant that when it was time for Aayushi to apply to medical school, she had no hesitation in putting RCSI at the top of her list. “Our time at RCSI overlapped for three years, from 2011-2014,” she explains. “We were able to support each other through the ups and downs of medical school and life abroad. Having an older sibling who had gone through the same medical school courses was a great resource for me, and Sam helped guide me through my studies. He taught me how to focus on the important subject areas and use the right tools and resources.” The two excelled at their studies, with Sam receiving the Ellen Moorhouse Medal in Microbiology (second place) in 2013 and Aayushi receiving the Kane Medal in Neurobiology in 2013.

“While at RCSI, we were both extremely socially active,” says Aayushi. “We both had a strong circle of friends and often spent time in groups which included people from both Sam’s and my class. We have many great memories of our time together at RCSI. Events such as the Chocolate Ball and College Ball were very special. We loved the International Nights, and remember the meet-ups in The Swan Bar after anatomy card signings, studying in the library, celebrating the end of year summer exams in St Stephen’s Green, ballad nights during Freshers’ Week, and attending each other’s graduation balls. We had an incredibly memorable time at RCSI, and we often reminisce about it very fondly.

“While in the US, we have tried to attend RCSI-hosted events, including the annual alumni event in Boston, a great way to stay in touch with RCSI alumni from across the country. We have also tried to support and mentor current and past RCSI students in obtaining research and residency positions in the US.

“We are both pursuing careers in academic medicine in the US, and hope to continue to collaborate with RCSI in developing and expanding opportunities for cross-continent professional development, research and mentorship. We are incredibly grateful to RCSI for the opportunities it has afforded us, from jumpstarting our careers to the support that it continues to provide.”

Dr David Broe (Class of 2002), Dr Claire Broe (Class of 2011), Dr Mark Broe (Class of 2012) and Rachel Broe (Class of 2013)

The Broe siblings – whose father is former President of RCSI, Professor Patrick Broe – may hold the record for the highest number of siblings to have graduated from the University.

The first sibling to attend RCSI was David, who enrolled in 1996. He is currently an orthopaedic surgeon at Prince of Wales Hospital in Randwick, Sydney, where he has specialised in hip and knee joint replacement surgery and sports/reconstruction of the knee joint for the past ten years.

Dr David Broe (Class of 2002)

“I graduated from RCSI in 2002,” says David. “So it’s my 20-year reunion this year. My wife, Dr Amanda Stephen, who is originally from Sydney, and I were in the same class. We have three children, Phoebe, Lily and Paddy (Jnr) who was named after my father. My father has been the greatest surgical influence in my life followed by my two great mentors, Dr Michael Solomon in Sydney and Mr Ray Moran in Dublin. I completed a knee fellowship with Ray back in Dublin in 2012.”

David says both his parents (his mother, Dr Elizabeth Broe, is an anaesthetist and GP) have had a huge influence on their children’s career choices, and has no doubt that the positive experience he had at RCSI influenced his younger siblings’ decisions to follow in his footsteps.

“I had a fantastic year in RCSI,” he says. “We had a very close relationship with the year ahead of us, the Class of 2001. We may be scattered all over the world but remain in regular contact. I look forward to seeing many of them at the Alumni Gathering in August.”

Dr Claire Broe (Class of 2011)

Next after David came Claire, a decade later, commencing her medical studies in 2006. Their brother Mark joined the graduate entry programme a year later, the same year Rachel commenced postgraduate physiotherapy.

Claire is currently a locum staff anesthesiologist in Vancouver General Hospital in Vancouver, Canada working with Vancouver Coastal Health.

“I was influenced to go to RCSI,” says Claire, “because I met so many people in my brother David’s class and witnessed the strong friendships he made during that time, many of which endure to this day. I worked alongside many of them during my anaesthesia training in Ireland and still consider them as extended family. Their graduation party in our back garden when I was 15 was a wonderful night that I still remember well.

“My favourite memory of RCSI with my siblings was my graduation week in 2011, as Rachel and Mark made the whole experience so much more fun than I could have imagined! Being in university at the same time also allowed us to become really good friends and closer than ever. We also gained two sisters from the RCSI alumni family as Mark and David met their wives, Lorna Keenan and Amanda Stephen, as medical students.”

Dr Mark Broe (Class of 2012)

Mark Broe is currently on fellowship in Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney in the field of robotic urology. He will be taking up a position as a consultant urologist with specialist interest in pelvic uro-oncology in Beaumont Hospital later in the year. “Once I decided to do Graduate Entry Medicine then the fantastic experience David had in RCSI made it my first choice,” says Mark. “I did not overlap with him in RCSI but attended numerous RCSI social and sporting events with him over the years. I got to know his classmates well and it has been really nice to cross paths with them throughout my own training in Ireland. “Hopefully Claire enjoyed having her older brother in the year behind her ar RCSI and I didn’t cramp her style! I got on well with her friends and vice versa. We had plenty of great nights out together, with our youngest sister Rachel joining us for some of them too. Both our graduation weeks in 2011 and 2012 respectively were particularly enjoyable. RCSI put a special effort into the celebrations and it was great fun sharing them with family and friends two years in a row. My wife Lorna Keenan and I had our second ‘RCSI alliance’ baby, Maeve, earlier this year in Sydney and we look forward to returning to Ireland this year.”

Rachel Broe (Class of 2013)

Rachel Broe, the youngest in the family, is Senior Physiotherapist at SSC Sports Medicine, Santry, Dublin. Like Claire and Mark she cherishes the fact that overlapping with each other at RCSI gave her the opportunity to broaden her friendships and get to know her siblings’ classmates as well as her own.

For Rachel, the celebrations around graduation are a lasting memory. “RCSI made that time very special for all of us,” she says.

“We have had a fantastic education and life experience at RCSI that have set us up for successful medical careers,” says David.

Dr Rand Abdulrahman & Dr Maan Abdulrahman (both RCSI Bahrain, Class of 2020)

Dr Rand Abdulrahman & Dr Maan Abdulrahman (both RCSI Bahrain, Class of 2020)

Both Abdulrahman siblings are RCSI staff; Rand as Clinical Educator for the Department of Surgery, Maan as Clinical Researcher for the School of Research and Postgraduate Studies. “We’re both very lucky to call ourselves RCSI staff! We attended RCSI in the same year and spent projects, subgroups and rotations trying to avoid each other. We even graduated with sequential class rankings! It meant someone of similar mindset and goals was there to share ideas and give constructive criticism. It also meant spending too much time together and almost killing each other during stressful rotations. RCSI was a great experience, a very nurturing environment. We watched each other overcome struggles and succeed individually. Our favourite moment was during our White Coat Ceremony in 2017. We were sitting in the same row and only realised we had shared our secret handshake when the video came out – it’s still on YouTube! We feel we’re very fortunate to have made this journey together.” ■