Recognising excellence at Trainee Awards

The Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (RCPI) celebrated the excellence and achievements of its Trainees at the annual RCPI Trainee Awards. 

The awards, which took place during the National Education Day for Doctors in Training, recognised Trainees’ achievements in communication, improvements in patient care, and research.

There were a number of awards presented at the event. These include the Corrigan Medal, the David Mitchell Award, and the William Stokes Award which were awarded by the RCPI Trainees' Committee while the Dorothy Stopford Price Medal was awarded by the Faculty of Public Health Medicine. 

Also awarded were the Kate McGarry Prize and the Trainer of the Year Award. There were also prizes for the best poster presentations.

Winners at the Trainee Awards

The Corrigan Medal

Dr Eleanor Burke | Submission title: Never forget the thyroid – A rare complication of a common condition
Dr Burke graduated from NUI Galway in 2018. She subsequently worked abroad in Perth Children's Hospital, Western Australia and is now completing Paediatric BST in Temple Street Hospital. She has a subspecialty interest in Paediatric Endocrinology.

The David Mitchell Award 

Dr Hannah O’Brien | Submission title: Thromboprophylaxis and Anticoagulation Prescribing and Deprescribing in Hospital Patients referred to the Specialist Palliative Care Team (SPCT)
Dr Hannah O'Brien is a Specialist Registrar in Palliative Medicine. She is currently in her third year of training in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda.

The William Stokes Award

Dr Diana Angelika Olszewska | Submission title: A rapid, novel RT-QuIC protocol, for Multiple System Atrophy and Parkinson’s disease using skin biopsy and serum neurofilament light chain as the most sensitive, specific and minimally invasive diagnostic biomarker to date
Dr Diana Olszewska is a Neurology Specialist Registrar at Cork University Hospital. Dr Olszewska obtained her MD at the Medical University of Warsaw. She has undertaken Basic Specialist Training and Higher Specialist Training (in neurology) with RCPI and was awarded her PhD from University College Dublin. Her PhD focused on studying genetics and biomarkers of Parkinson’s disease. She continued this work in genetics at the Mayo Clinic Jacksonville, Florida. Dr Olszewska recently returned from a two-year clinical Movement Disorders Fellowship at Toronto Western Hospital, Toronto, Canada, and was awarded the James Sharpe award for the best research study during her graduation. Her research is focused on developing biomarkers in various bio-fluids using novel techniques in movement disorders. Dr Olszewska’s goals are to excel in patient care, stimulate innovation, and work towards the development of a diagnostic test and so much-needed disease-modifying therapy for Parkinson’s disease.

The Dorothy Stopford Price Medal

Dr Karen McCarthy | Submission title: Understanding respiratory tissue resident memory T-cell responses following Bordetella pertussis immunisation ¬– progress toward more effective next generation Pertussis vaccines
Dr Karen McCarthy is a Paediatric Specialist Registrar. She has a sub-speciality interest in Paediatric Infectious diseases which she has developed through a Masters in Paediatric Infectious Diseases at the University of Oxford as a post-graduate Clarendon Scholar. She is currently undertaking dual clinical and academic training through the Wellcome-HRB funded Irish Clinical Academic Training Fellowship. Her PhD studies in Trinity College Dublin focus on developing greater insights into the role of mucosal immune responses to respiratory pathogens following infection and immunisation and harnessing this knowledge to develop next generation vaccination strategies.

The Kate McGarry Prize

Dr David Moloney | Submission title: Clinical Outcomes After Intensifying Antihypertensive Medication Regimens Among Older Adults at Hospital Discharge
Dr Moloney is a second year Specialist Registrar in Geriatric Medicine with a specialist interest in orthostatic hypotension, syncope, and clinical trials in older adults.

Trainer of the Year

Professor Martin O'Donnell
Prof O’Donnell was chosen as the Trainer of the Year by RCPI Trainees. Speaking about Prof O’Donnell, one of the Trainees who nominated him said: Professor Martin O'Donnell is the best trainer I have worked with throughout my whole training across BST and HST. He is an excellent mentor, knowlegable, non-judgemental and is able to give excellent feedback. Whenever I have worked with him clinically I have always felt it to be an excellent educational opportunity and as well as his in-depth knowledge I have learnt about how to become a good communicator and to identify the needs of patients, and about how to advocate for patients and their needs.  

Poster winners

• The Corrigan Poster Award Winner 2023: Dr Aonghus Joyce, Basic Specialist Training in General Internal Medicine.
   
• The William Stokes Poster Award Winner 2023: Dr Jennifer Scott, Higher Specialist Training in Nephrology.
   
• The Dorothy Stopford Price Poster Award Winner 2023: Dr Margaret M. Brennan, Higher Specialist Training in Public Health.

Congratulations to all of the winners at the 2023 RCPI Trainee Awards. 

Find out more about the Trainee Awards