Ms Margaret Dawson and Ms Noeleen Friel from the MRSA and Families Network visited RCSI on 2 September 2011 to contribute to the education and training of postgraduate medical trainees, via the RCSI RCPI Patient Safety Online Learning Programme for Doctors.

Margaret and Noeleen, whose families have been impacted by MRSA, voiced their experiences for inclusion on an online learning module Preventing and Managing Healthcare Associated Infections. Margaret and Noeleen were filmed speaking about the human cost of MRSA and recollected on their own experiences - how the infection was acquired, what was done to prevent it and how healthcare staff communicated to them about the infection. Their stories identify key learning points for doctors and all healthcare professionals and are a powerful addition to the online training.

The representatives of MRSA and Families Network were welcomed to the RCSI by Professor Hilary Humphreys (Professor of Clinical Microbiology, RCSI; Consultant Microbiologist, Beaumont Hospital) and Ms Siobhán McCarthy (Lecturer, RCSI Institute of Leadership) who were the module developers.

The RCSI RCPI Patient Safety Online Learning Programme for Doctors was funded by the HSE METR Department through the Forum of Postgraduate Medical Training Bodies and is available to all the medical training bodies. At present the programme consists of eight modules: Introduction to Patient Safety; Understanding how Adverse Events and Near Misses Occur; Open Communication, Caring for the Second Victim; Learning from Adverse Events and Near Misses; Medication Safety; Principles of Antibiotic Use; Preventing and Managing Healthcare Associated Infections.

The development of the programme has been managed by Ms Siobhán McCarthy, Mr Dermot O’Flynn (Director of Professional Development and Training, RCSI Institute of Leadership) and Dr Ann O’Shaughnessy (Head of Education and Professional Development, RCPI). The development of the programme has been a collaborative effort. Modules include video expertise from representatives of the Clinical Indemnity Scheme; Commission on Patient Safety and Quality Assurance; Health Protection Surveillance Centre, HSE; Irish College of General Practitioners; Irish Medication Safety Network; Medication Safety Work Review Programme, HSE; National Medicines Information Centre, St James’s Hospital; Patient Advocacy Groups - Mrs Margaret Murphy & MRSA and Families Network; and the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland and RCSI.