50 doctors awarded at RCPI Faculty of Occupational Medicine Admission Ceremony

50 doctors were awarded at a special ceremony held in No. 6 Kildare Street on 14 November, during RCPI Faculty of Occupational Medicine Smiley Symposium.

At the faculty’s annual Admission Ceremony, doctors are awarded Honorary Fellowship of RCPI, Fellowship of RCPI (Occupational Medicine), Membership of RCPI Faculty of Occupational Medicine, Certificate of Satisfactory Completion of Specialist Training, and Licentiateship of RCPI Faculty of Occupational Medicine.

The college welcomed two esteemed Honorary Fellows – the highest award conferred by RCPI, and reserved for world leaders in medical science and those who have made an exceptional contribution to medicine or healthcare. Each college faculty and institute may admit two Honorary Fellows per year.

Dr Christopher Martin

In the 1990s, Dr Christopher Martin left the easternmost point of Canada, where he was a medicine undergrad in Newfoundland, for the western prairies of Alberta to study environmental health science and occupational medicine. Such borderlessness would characterise his career; he is now director of global engagement at West Virginia University U.S, where he oversees international partnerships. He holds a visiting appointment at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health, and serves on the board of trustees for the National University of Science and Technology in the Sultanate of Oman. For 26 years, Dr Martin has been programme director of West Virginia University’s Occupational Medicine training programme. In 2018, he expanded the existing occupational medicine programme to establish the first and only public health medicine training programme in Appalachia, designed to improve health outcomes in rural, underserved areas. He was awarded the Excellence in Education Award by the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine in 2022. In November 2025 he gave the annual RCPI Smiley Lecture.

Dr Robin Cordell

Currently president of Faculty of Occupational Medicine UK, Dr Robin Cordell has over 30 years' experience delivering healthcare services in the National Health Service and the Armed Forces. He trained for his medical degree at St. George’s Hospital Medical School in the 1980s before obtaining membership of the faculty, and becoming an accredited specialist in occupational medicine. He worked more than 20 years in the Defence Medical Services where he saw operational service in Bosnia, Kosovo and Afghanistan. In 2013, he founded Cordell Health Ltd, an occupational health service for clients across the south of England and Wales. As member of the Council for Work & Health, a coalition of professional bodies dedicated to enhancing workplace health, he offered examination preparation for Membership of Faculty of Occupational Medicine Part II. As president of the faculty, he leads on engagement in standards in occupational health, having previously led the Safe Effective Quality Occupational Health Service (SEQOHS) standards launched in 2023.

Sixteen doctors were recipients of Fellowship of RCPI (Occupational Medicine). This is a special recognition of an individual’s contribution to their specialty, as part of a community of physicians operating at the forefront of medicine.

Membership of RCPI Faculty of Occupational Medicine is obtained through successful completion of examination, and it is an internationally-recognised benchmark of excellence valued by healthcare employers worldwide. Four doctors were awarded membership.

Three trainees were awarded Certificate of Satisfactory Completion of Specialist Training. This certificate is awarded to trainees upon satisfactory completion of RCPI’s Higher Specialist Training programmes, and qualifies doctors for entry to the Specialist Division of the Medical Council.

Licentiateship of RCPI Faculty of Occupational Medicine is a key knowledge-based assessment for occupational medicine in Ireland, and is an internationally recognised qualification that is achieved through examination. Twenty-five doctors were awarded licentiateship.

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