A new collaboration between RCSI and the International Medical Robotics Academy (IMRA) will provide surgical trainees access to a new online course in the foundations of robotic surgery.

Recent advancements of robotic surgery have led to the increased need to prepare surgical trainees to meet the demands of technological enhanced surgery.
The Foundations of Robotic Surgery introductory course is the first robotics course RCSI and IMRA are collaborating on and provides the foundational theory and principles required to safely perform robotic surgical procedures.

This unique course includes a linear robotic surgical training curriculum using online education, virtual reality, 3D video, simulators and advanced synthetic organ models. Surgical trainees will be equipped with the theoretical knowledge and practical working understanding of how-to setup a robot and console, the fundamentals of operating the robot, and how to achieve robotic surgical competence.

The course will also provide surgical trainees the opportunity to enhance their knowledge about the fundamental theory and principles of robotic surgery. RCSI’s collaboration with IMRA is a significant step forward in ensuring that surgical trainees are equipped with the most up-to-date skills.

Emerging technology

Professor Kevin Barry, Director of National Surgical Training Programme, RCSI Surgery, said: “This new partnership represents a very significant opportunity for our surgical trainees going forward, and will help to ensure that they are well prepared to cope with the surgical needs of our population in the years ahead.”

Mr Kieran Ryan, Managing Director, RCSI Surgery, said: “RCSI is very excited to collaborate with our colleagues in IMRA in developing this robotic assisted surgery training and education programme. The technological advances in surgical practice are accelerating and RCSI’s role is to respond by ensuring trainees are proficient and competent in the use of these new and emerging technologies.

“We have been working closely with our trainers in each specialty to understand the robotics and technological changes so that we map out the most appropriate training and educational pathways. Going forward, we will be building the training on robotic assisted surgery into the relevant parts of our training curricular and assessments of surgical training progression.”

World-leading training

Professor Tony Costello, Founder of IMRA, said: “I have had the great privilege to train a number of Irish urologists in the art of robotic surgery. I have always admired Irish surgery and in particular the talent in Irish Urology. My recent collaboration with RCSI has reinforced my belief that RCSI is the most nimble College in its ability to deal with the complexities of providing a modern surgical pedagogy. 

“As a proud Honorary Fellow of RCSI, it is wonderful now to be working in collaboration in the area of education and robotic assisted surgery. It gives me such pleasure to have teamed up with RCSI and to be launching the Foundation of RAS course developed at IMRA, which RCSI will deliver to Irish surgical trainees. This is such an important technological advancement and RCSI show great leadership in adding it to their surgical training programme. I really look forward to seeing this collaboration develop and to achieving great things together.”

Dr Helen Mohan, Director of Clinical Research of IMRA, said: “RCSI is a world leader in Surgical Training, Human Factors in Patient Safety and simulation. This exciting partnership with the International Medical Robotics Academy (IMRA) is a fantastic opportunity to future proof the surgical workforce to embrace robotic technology. As a graduate of the RCSI surgical training programme and in my current role in IMRA, it gives me particular joy to bring some of the innovative robotic training work from IMRA to benefit surgical trainees in Ireland. I'm looking forward to the growth and development of this partnership to deliver world leading robotic training."

A new podcast, Beyond the Theatre, launched today by RCSI, will address the topics that impact surgeons in practice and training.

Developed by the team in RCSI’s Department of Surgical Affairs, the podcast will reflect the complexity that surgeons and healthcare professionals experience as they navigate today’s surgical environment.

The first episode, which was released today, covers the topic of Flexible Training.  The podcast is hosted by Mr Keith Synnott, a former Trauma and Orthopaedics Training Programme Director,  speaking to Dr Grainne Colgan Trauma and Orthopaedics Consultant at the Mater Hospital in Dublin.

Dr Colgan trained Flexibly for much of her Higher Specialist Training and holds a record for the person who spent the longest time in Higher Surgical Training.

The podcast is a discussion on how you can train successfully and have a work-life balance by embracing the benefits of flexible training.

As an experienced Training Programme Director Mr Synnott explores how training programmes can adapt and be flexible to support trainees on their journey to specialist registration.

To listen to our first episode, please click here.    

Beyond the Theatre Spotify.

Applications for the 2024 PROGRESS Women in Surgery Fellowship are now open and will close on Wednesday, 30 August 2023.

The 2024 PROGRESS Women in Surgery Fellowship is a prestigious bursary awarded by RCSI to promote female participation in surgical training at fellowship level. We hope this will in turn support the acquisition of additional surgical skills and knowledge that will contribute to the advancement of surgical science and practice in the island of Ireland.

The successful candidate will be awarded a Fellowship of €45,000 for one year. She will also be awarded the RCSI PROGRESS Fellowship Medal and her name will be added to the Fellowship in Surgery board, displayed in RCSI. The Fellowship will be presented at the annual RCSI Charter Day Meeting.

Application Form 2024

For more information, please click here.

Congratulations to those who have recently been awarded their CCST in Surgery:

This year a total of 34 Trainees successfully completed training and we wish them every success in their future careers.

RCSI is pleased to offer the opportunity to Trainees with a record of publication in medicine, surgery or clinical science to complete an MD or PhD by prior published works. 

Researchers who have published their own original research, which examiners deem has made a significant contribution to knowledge, can obtain an MD or PhD award in recognition of this work when it is presented in the form of a coherent thesis and successfully assessed in a viva voce examination. This route to an MD or PhD allows scholars to gain academic recognition for their work over a minimum registration period of one year.

Applications are now open via the RCSI website and close 2 October 2023. Further details can also be found on the website. Enquiries can be made to postgraduateschool@rcsi.ie. 

Kind regards,

RCSI Surgery

We are delighted to welcome 80 new trainees starting their Surgical Training journey this July.

The 2023 Surgical Boot-camp will commence this year on the 10^th July, this is an innovative and practical programme delivered by the team at Surgical Affairs, the Simulation team and our Consultant Surgeon Trainers who every year continue to demonstrate their commitment and enthusiasm.

We are excited to announce that the National Surgical Research Support Centre (NSRSC) are organising a research symposium at this year’s 45th Millin meeting taking place on 10 November 2023.

This is an excellent chance for trainee and early career surgeons from all specialities to showcase their research and trial activities and a great opportunity to hear from eminent speakers in the field. A few provisional dates to keep in mind:

• Call for abstracts opens Mid July 2023
• Closing date for submissions: Early September 2023 

Further information to follow. Keep up to date and follow us on Twitter and Linkedin

Applications for our flexible and part-time MSc. in Advanced Clinical Practice will close next Monday, 17 July 2023.

The aim of the Advanced Clinical Practice programme is to provide clinicians of various specialties a systematic understanding of the professional skills and techniques needed to provide leadership, management, teaching and research in clinical practice. Scholars on this programme will be able to gain a suite of essential skills and competencies in clinical practice in order to take on more advanced roles within your specialty, sector or setting.

NCHDs working in the HSE full-time may be able to combine Continuous Professional Development Support Scheme (CPD-SS) funding and Training Supports Scheme (TSS) funding to cover up to €5,500 over 2 years of the part-time MSc in Advanced Clinical Practice programme (€2,250 per year).

Download our brand-new 2023 programme brochure

For more information, please visit www.rcsi.com/macp 

Applications for our flexible and online PG Diploma/MSc in Human Factors in Patient Safety programme will close in less than 4 weeks, on Friday 4 August 2023.

Scholars on this programme attend online interactive sessions and workshops one day per month. The rest of the multi-disciplinary programme including didactic teaching, discussion boards, reading, and resources are offered online, which scholars can access in your own time.

Download our 2023 programme brochure.

To find out more, please click here. 

RCSI has launched the 2023/24 Continuous Professional Development Support Scheme (CPD-SS), which is a free education programme for non-consultant hospital doctors (NCHDs). This extensive programme has been developed by RCSI in collaboration with HSE National Doctors Training and Planning (NDTP).

To be eligible to attend these free CPD courses, NCHDs must enrol on the programme before enrolment closes on Friday, 29 September. This year’s programme includes new courses including ENT Skills for General Surgeons, Head and Neck Trauma Management and Advanced Cardiac Life Support. The programme also includes self-paced online courses, including Safe Clinical Handovers, Communication Skills for Video and Telephone Consultations and Medical Science for Surgery and Emergency Medicine. 

For more information, please click here. 

The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland have recently launched a brand-new MRCS Part B OSCE diet in September 2023 that will take place in Cairo, Egypt. The Part B OSCE will run on Friday, 29^th of and Saturday 30^th of September 2023.

MRCS applicants who have successfully passed MRCS Part A can now apply for our new Part B location in Egypt. Please note applications for this diet in September 2023 is now closed.

Candidates sitting the MRCS examinations with RCSI will receive exclusive access to our Affiliate Membership and 20% off PasTest Part B resources.

For any queries, please email mrcsexams@rcsi.ie or visit the Royal College of Surgeons in Irelands dedicated MRCS website.

Join us on Friday, 29 September 2023 from 2pm to 5pm for our 3^rd annual National Human Factors in Patient Safety conference.  

Bringing together a community of Human Factors in Patient Safety advocates across Ireland and abroad, don’t miss the opportunity to gain valuable knowledge and insights from human factors experts. 

This inter-professional conference will include contributions from: 

• Dr Chris Turner, Emergency Medicine Consultant at University Hospital of Coventry and Warwickshire 
• Professor Steven Yule, Chair of Behavioural Sciences at the University of Edinburgh 
• Professor Eva Doherty, Director of Human Factors in Patient Safety, RCSI (Chair) 

To register for the National Human Factors in Patient Safety Conference, please select the appropriate link below: 

• In-person – Registration link 
• Online – Registration link 

For more information, please visithttps://bit.ly/hfps-conference2023 or email MSchumanfactorsPS@rcsi.ie if you have any queries. 

Speaker bios 

Dr Chris Turner 
Chris is a consultant in emergency medicine He is interested in governance and highly performing teams, and this has led him on a journey from being blame and process focused to something completely different, civilitysaveslives.com, a campaign that aims to raise awareness of the impact of behaviour on performance. Over the last few years this idea has gained momentum and traction across healthcare and beyond. 

Professor Steven Yule 
Professor Steven Yule is Chair of Behavioural Sciences at the University of Edinburgh, and leader of the Edinburgh Surgical Sabermetrics Group. He is also Programme Director of the MSc in Patient Safety and Clinical Human Factors within Edinburgh Surgery Online, and Director of Non-Technical Skills at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.  

RCSI is pleased to announce the launch of our brand-new MRCS section on the RCSI website.

Our brand-new MRCS section represents our global network of aspiring surgeons ready to take the next step with RCSI. With our expanding candidate numbers and increased global reach, our new MRCS section guides users through a seamless journey with informative content and key USPs.

Whether you’re starting the process of learning about the MRCS examinations, a surgical trainee ready to book the next MRCS Part A examination, or an aspiring surgeon looking to know the benefits of sitting the MRCS with RCSI, our new MRCS section communicates value at all ends of the MRCS spectrum for prospective global candidates.

For more information, visit: https://www.rcsi.com/dublin/professional-cpd/professional-exams/surgery

The ESVS Annual Meeting is home of best practices in the field of vascular surgery, breakthrough research, and unparalleled learning. The meeting offers extensive vascular surgery education and scientific exchange with leading experts in the field along with the opportunity to network with colleagues and peers not only from Europe but also from all over the world.

Download Flyer.

For more information, please click here.