Masterclass series 2025 - 2026
Homesick: Back to the Future
23 September 2025
The concept of the virtual hospital and virtual clinic are becoming reality for people with chronic diseases such as Diabetes, Heart failure and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), supporting people to manage their illness in the comfort of their home. This is enabled with remote monitoring using biomedical instruments, smartphone apps and virtual consults. This masterclass will explore virtual care in Ireland, focusing on both virtual care pathways and the ‘virtual ward’ , within the overall context of digital healthcare in Ireland. This masterclass was accompanied by an exhibition at No. 6 Kildare Street exploring care in the home throughout history. Speakers included Prof Derek O'Keeffe, Prof Richard Greene, Dr Susan Connolly, Dr Neasa Starr, Dr Maria Costello, Dr Noreen Lineen-Curtis.
Professional Ethics and Self Reflection for Medicine
12 November 2025
During the 2010s, Oxford-based general physician Dr Andrew Papanikitas carried out an extensive investigation into medical ethics and law – research that culminated with the Handbook of Primary Care Ethics (2018), a publication designed to guide GPs through dilemmas they may encounter. Keynote speaker, Dr Papanikitas’s commitment to strengthening the teaching of ethics continues, looking beyond General Practice and exploring post-graduate ethics education in other specialities, in collaboration with the medical royal colleges. The Masterclass covered how to recognise ethics, ethical theories and how to ‘do’ ethics, self-reflection, Interprofessional ethics, moral leadership and ethic education. The event was facilitated by the Company of Apothecaries Hall of Dublin.
Importance of Kindness in Delivering Quality Care
14 January 2026
Our first Masterclass of 2026, traced how kindness and compassion underpin professionalism, leadership, and quality in healthcare.
In London during the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Health Service set up a temporary field hospital inside a convention centre: NHS Nightingale. As part of that crisis operation, Dr James Mountford was appointed the hospital's Chief of Quality and Learning. During this Masterclass, Dr Mountford unpacked the essential role of kindness in healthcare leadership, drawing on their experience at NHS Nightingale during that challenging time. Prof Brendan Kelly (Professor of Psychiatry, Trinity College Dublin), shared his experience in mental health governance to examine kindness through the ethics and philosophy of care. Dr Suzanne Crowe drew on her experience in paediatric intensive care and as President of the Irish Medical Council to explore the importance of kindness in moments of high stress and clinical intensity.
The Tightrope Walker
11 February 2026
Healthcare Quality: Coproduction Values and Action
13 May 2026
Sustaining a 40 Year Career
27 May 2026
Rare Diseases: From Partnership Programmes to Clinical Practices
17 June 2026