RCSI today awarded its highest honour to the President of the Royal College of Surgeons in England (RCSEng) and the President of the American College of Surgeons (ACS).

Mr Bernard Ribeiro, President RCSEng and Dr Gerald B Healy, President ACS, received Honorary Fellowships from the College during its recent annual Charter Day celebrations.

Mr Bernard Ribeiro
Mr Ribeiro studied medicine in the Middlesex Hospital Medical School, graduating in 1967. He then embarked on a career in surgery and was awarded the Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons of England in 1972. Seven years later he was appointed as Consultant General Surgeon to Basildon Hospital, Essex, with a special interest in colorectal surgery and urology.

He held all of the high office posts in the Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland , culminating in the Presidency in 1999. He has been an elected council member of the Royal College of Surgeons of England since 1998, and became senior Vice President in 2004. He was elected President of RCSEng in July 2005.

Delivering the citation, RCSI Council member Ms Eilis McGovern said: “His tenure in this office has been extremely focused. His vision was to see the College change from being a reactive body to one which would take a major leadership role in the key issues affecting the health service, particularly in the area of surgery.”

She continued: “The College of Surgeons in Ireland is very grateful for the support it has received from President Ribeiro. He has always respected our independence, and has been generous with his advice. He was pivotal to the success of the joint council meeting of the two Colleges held here in December, and we hope that this can be a regular event in the future.”

Dr Gerald B. Healy
Dr Healy was appointed the 88th President of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) in October 2006, the first otolaryngologist to hold this position.

The Professor of Otology and Laryngology at Harvard Medical School and the Otolaryngologist in Chief at the Children’s Hospital in Boston, Dr Healy has published 132 papers in peer reviewed journals including several key publications in the New England Journal of Medicine and in the Lancet as well as all of the major surgical journals.

He has held many leadership positions in organised surgery including President of the American Society of Paediatric Otolaryngology and Director of the American Board of Otolaryngology. Dr Healy received international acclaim for his pioneering work with laser surgery.

Reading the citation, RCSI Council member Countess Laura Viani, said:"The shadow of the American College of Surgeons is now the lengthened shadow of Gerald B. Healy, its 88th President. In his prophetic Presidential address, ‘Competence, Safety, Quality – The path of the 21st century’, Dr Healy outlined what he felt would formulate the legacy of the 21st century surgeon. What emerges from this is his humanity. He reminded us that patients do not care how much you know until they know how much you care.”