National Education Day: Trainees hear from physicians of different generations
The perspectives of physicians from different generations were heard at RCPI’s National Education Day. Each year, RCPI Trainees Committee takes over No. 6 Kildare Street for this key event, allowing college trainees to showcase their talents and achievements in research, and compete in the annual Trainee Awards.
The invited speakers at the event held on 22 May included: Dr Sarah Murphy (HST Obstetrics & Gynaecology trainee, Cork University Maternity Hospital); Dr Aoibhinn Walsh (paediatrician, Children's Health Ireland Inclusion Health Service); and Prof Garry Courtney (gastroenterologist, St Luke’s Hospital Kilkenny).
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr Sarah Murphy witnessed a large number of pregnant patients declining the COVID-19 vaccine because of misinformation they had read on social media. She decided to start an Instagram page to share health guidelines and updates. The page has since become a popular social media platform with 85,000 followers.
Dr Murphy discussed research proving misinformation was having an impact on uptake of the HPV vaccine, how “patient influencers” sharing their experience with large followings are on the rise, and how “medical influencers” can be a force for good. “As we progress into the 21st century, I think we need to acknowledge misinformation is going to increase,” she said. “We need to meet patients where they are.”
Dr Aoibhinn Walsh shared her experience of spending three years setting up a new service – the Lynn Clinic in north inner-city Dublin for children at risk of social exclusion – while raising a family. “It can be very challenging. Don’t feel like you’re the only person going through it,” she said.
She spoke of the support she received from her colleagues in Paediatrics. “Find your tribe and support each other. Make time for those friendships.”
A career spanning 50 years was presented by Prof Garry Courtney. Prof Courtney studied medicine at Trinity College Dublin in the 1970s, and discovered the specialty gastroenterology while working in Sir Patrick Dun’s Hospital in the early 1980s. “Because it was a small number of trainees, you had intimate mentoring,” he said. “I notice now interns aren’t given the opportunity to do bone marrows, the lumbars, because the Senior House Officers are there.”
Prof Courtney worked in St Thomas’s Hospital in London before returning to Ireland, and eventually accepting a job at St. Luke’s Hospital in Kilkenny in the mid-1990s, which would be his base for 30 years. It was a dramatic change from the well-equipped St Thomas’s Hospital (“The pinnacle of the NHS at the time.”), as Prof Courtney, soon elected to the South-Eastern Health Board, went chasing down resources, including the creation of a new Endoscopy service.
He became involved in hospital management as Clinical Director of St Luke’s Hospital Kilkenny. His 30 years there saw annual hospital admissions rise by 341%, but its consultant staff has risen by 810%, and non-consultant hospital doctor staff by 825%. His advice? “Get data,” he says. “Welcome inspections by the Health Information and Quality Authority and RCPI. Regulators are your friends. Compare and contrast inequity in staffing, funding and risk. Make business cases and put consultants on committees.”
An Inter-Generational Quiz pitted three teams of physicians against each other (The Veterans, Gen X, and The Millennials) in situations that drew on references specific to their generation, illuminating how being a physician has changed
TRAINEE AWARDS
Each year at National Education Day, the Trainee Awards recognise trainee achievements in communication, improvements in patient care and specialist education and training, and research.
Winners are selected by a judging panel of clinicians.
CORRIGAN AWARD
Named after past RCPI President Sir Dominic Corrigan (1859-1863), the Corrigan Award recognises the best Basic Specialist Training (BST) case study in competition. It recognises excellence in communication - the ability to identify complicated and challenging aspects of patient histories and communicate what we can learn from them.
Presentations began with Dr Andleeb Badar (BST General Paediatrics, Coombe Hospital), who discussed a case where a 14-year-old boy was hypocalcemic after a general practitioner prescription of the penicillin antibiotic Flucloxacillin. This was suspected to be symptomatic of the rare endocrine disorder Pseudohypoparathyroidism type 1B, a diagnosis confirmed after genetic testing.
Dr Sarah Cooney (BST General Internal Medicine, St James’s Hospital) discussed a 67-year-old man who had recurring syncope, or fainting. After endocrinological investigation, it was found that syncope was masking a case of Late Dumping Syndrome, a gastric emptying triggering an overproduction of insulin, and resulting in hypoglycemia.
A 33-year-old woman with a history of painful swelling and bruising of left leg was the subject of a presentation by Dr Firinna McKenna Beattie (BST General Internal Medicine, University Hospital Galway). All investigations came back as normal except for muscle and subcutaneous tissue inflammation showing on an MRI. These were symptoms in keeping with scurvy, a disease widely believed to belong to a previous era, and the patient confirmed a history of restrictive food intake.
DAVID MITCHELL AWARD
The David Mitchell Award recognises audits that improve patient care and/or specialist education and training.
Presentations began with Dr Madison Phipps (BST General Paediatrics, Children’s Health Ireland at Temple Street), who discussed working with a cohort of child patients with spina bifida. Dr Phipps explained that international guidelines by the Spina Bifida Association recommend opportunistic vitamin D testing, as patients with spina bifida have increased risk of vitamin D deficiency and increased risk of fractures. She designed and led a quality improvement project to align CHI Temple Street’s service with international guidelines.
Dr Sarah Kenny (HST Clinical Microbiology) shared a quality improvement project during her rotation at St Vincent’s University Hospital wherein, for the first time in Ireland, the Kurin Lock – a tool used to draw blood – was tested to see if it can reduce the rate of blood contamination in the Emergency Department. The project saw a 75% reduction in contamination rate, and a business case has been approved by St. Vincent’s University Hospital to adopt the Kurin Lock.
The creation of a brand new registry for capsule endoscopy procedures is a project by Dr Conor Costigan (HST Gastroenterology, Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown). Capsule endoscopy – a non-invasive procedure involving swallowing a vitamin-sized camera – is being rolled out by the HSE in recent years. Dr Costigan’s project is the creation of Ireland’s first multicentre capsule registry, to standardise the care patients receive and identify areas of underperformance. The project has been approved by nine centres contributing their data so far, and the hope is it will extend to all Irish endoscopy units.
ARTHUR EAKINS AWARD
Named after Occupational Medicine physician Arthur Eakins (1932-2022), this award was introduced in 2024 by RCPI Trainees Health & Wellbeing Committee. It is awarded for a research project or quality improvement initiative which improves and promotes trainee health and wellbeing.
Presentations began with Dr Sophie Duignan (HST Paediatric Cardiology), who shared results of a survey asking RCPI trainees about their awareness of sick leave entitlements. It found that two thirds are unaware of entitlements they’d have if they were unwell, and more than 70% feared what their consultant would think of them if they had to avail of health and wellbeing supports. Less that 50% of trainees who were sick were referred to occupational health to be advised of their entitlements.
Dr Kate McCarthy (HST Geriatric Medicine, Mercy University Hospital Cork) presented a project designed to highlight the impact of parenthood on medical training, and to identify challenges. A survey circulated to trainees who are parents found 98% of respondents found rotational nature of training adds to challenges. 64% of respondents said they had to live away from their children during training. 79% reported an impact on their work attendance. 48% said they would consider retaining childcare placements when on rotation. 93% had a child who was brestfed, but only 7% could avail of protected breastfeeding breaks.
An analysis of burnout levels at a tertiary care hospital in Islamabad, Pakistan was the focus of Dr Mishal Maqbool (BST Obstetrics & Gynaecology). Results of a questionnaire found 71% of female doctors reporting feelings of burnout. 79% felt the patient load exceeded capacity, and 76% felt equipment was in short supply. Obstetrics & Gynaecology reported highest burnout score, followed by Orthopaedics.
WILLIAM STOKES AWARD
Awarded by RCPI Trainees Committee, the William Stokes Award recognises research of the highest standards carried out by trainees in Higher Specialist Training (HST) or International Clinical Fellowship Programme (ICFP).
Presentations began with Dr Joanne Byrne (HST Infectious Diseases, St Vincent’s University Hospital), who discussed an immunoassay they developed to measure the effectiveness of the vaccine administered during the 2022 Mpox outbreak. The vaccine was rolled out in an emergency context, so reporting is ongoing. Dr Byrne’s immunoassay is currently implemented in three clinical trials in Europe and Africa.
Dr Dermot Wildes (HST General Paediatrics, Children’s Health Ireland at Temple Street) shared research concerning patients with the congenital heart defect patent ductus arteriosus, which can lead to acute kidney injury. Dr Wildes is working on using echocardiographic ultrasound to create a haemodynamic score that could predict acute kidney injury in such patients.
Burkitt Lymphoma, an aggressively fast-growing type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, was the focus of Dr Eoghan O'Connor (HST Histopathology). Dr O’Connor’s research characterises the network of biomolecules interacting with the c-Myc oncoprotein that can drive uncontrolled cell divisions and cancer. He found the laboratory chemical Mirin can block the DNA repair network essential for Burkitt Lymphoma.
DOROTHY STOPFORD PRICE MEDAL
Honouring Dorothy Stopford Price (1890-1954), a pioneer in infectious disease control in Ireland, this medal was introduced in 2018. The medal recognises excellence in research or audit on vaccination, immunisation or control of infectious diseases and its potential impact on public health.
Presentations began with Dr Muireann de Paor (HST Public Health Medicine, HSE National Health Protection Office) who assessed the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic on the uptake in secondary schools of the Tdap vaccine for tetanus, diphtheria and whooping cough. Dr de Paor’s research found that national uptake in the vaccines have declined, and inequalities have widened – particularly for DEIS schools.
Dr Paul Reidy (HST Infectious Diseases, University Hospital Galway) geolocated patient samples at St. James’s Hospital that tested positive for antimicrobial resistance (AMR), and referred to the deprivation index by the non-profit Pobal to explore if there are socioeconomic determinants of AMR. Looking at a five-year patient cohort, and 6,722 laboratory-confirmed samples, Dr Reidy found that AMR patients show a modestly lower area-level score on Pobal’s deprivation index, and that medical card status is strongly associated with AMR.
Trends of HIV and AIDS in pregnant women at Maternity Care Hospital Islamabad in Pakistan was the focus of Dr Mishal Maqbool (BST Obstetrics & Gynaecology). Dr Maqbool’s analysis focused on 197 mothers over a 15-year period, and found a concerning upward trend in HIV in pregnant women. Most pregnant women with HIV were between 21-30 years-of-age.
Find out the winners of the RCPI TRAINEE AWARDS