RCSI has introduced a student information system to support the management of postgraduate surgical training students.

RCSI today announced the development of a student information system with database administration specialists, TeamDBA. Based on Microsoft SQLServer and a user-friendly web front end, the system currently tracks and manages the profiles of over 2,500 postgraduate surgical training students and provides a stable and secure platform for the college's future growth and expansion.

The system is used on a daily basis as the main data source for all staff in the surgical training office for viewing, inputting and reporting data. It combines data from eight stand-alone Access databases, which had been previously maintained by staff in separate departments. By providing a single repository for all information, it consistently tracks the full history of each student from initial application to ongoing assessments by tutors and doctors. TeamDBA also provided technical consultancy on integration of a third-party application which tracks students clinical rotations.

"The completion of this important project allows us to greatly improve business processes within surgical training," explained Dustin Thurgood, Chief Technology Officer at RCSI. "We have a long working relationship with TeamDBA as they have maintained our Agresso Financial Systems for some time now," he added.

The system provides the RCSI with dependable and secure control over student records,explains Jed Glover, managing director, TeamDBA. It meets all the criteria laid down by the RCSI at the outset of the project:

• Consistency - A single repository for data allowing records to be updated centrally
• Security - Allowing IT staff to set role-based access to records for permanent or temporary staff
• Dependability - Providing a facility to supplement the data with knowledge and experience of present staff, which will be available to future employees
• Rich functionality - Meeting the reporting requirements of the college and allowing RCSI staff to utilise information more effectively and efficiently

The web front-end was developed by Fitzpatrick Software Development (FSD) using the very latest Microsoft technologies and fits seamlessly with the RCSI's existing Intranet. "We worked closely with TeamDBA to develop a high-end web application within a very short period of time," explains Victor Gannon, Managing Director, Fitzpatrick Software Development. "The result is a user-friendly application that will meet the needs of the RCSI today and into the future," he added.