Today a new and exciting collaboration was inaugurated with the signing of a historic ‘Memorandum of Understanding' between the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) School of Pharmacy and the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital (MMUH) Pharmacy Department. The agreement will greatly enhance the teaching and clinical practice of pharmacy in Ireland.

Professor Hannah McGee, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, and Professor Paul Gallagher, Head of the School of Pharmacy, RCSI joined Mr. Brian Conlan, CEO and Mr. Ciaran Meegan, Head of Pharmacy Services, MMUH at the signing ceremony and unveiling of a commemorative plaque in the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital today.

Professor Hannah McGee, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, RCSI in her remarks at the signing stated: "RCSI's undergraduate pharmacy students will, as a consequence of this MOU receive structured-placement based pharmacy education at MMUH which will facilitate greater contextualisation of their clinical knowledge." Professor Paul Gallagher welcomed Meegan and his colleagues as honorary appointees of RCSI Faculty and commented "that their extensive clinical experience and expertise will greatly enhance the preparedness of our students for professional practice". RCSI graduates approximately 55 students and 200 Pharmacy interns annually.

Brian Conlon, CEO of the MMUH, said: "This exciting collaboration between our Pharmacy Department and the School of Pharmacy, RCSI is the first strategic partnership of its kind in the Republic of Ireland. This partnership will ensure that pharmacy students will be exposed to the hospital as a workplace and a professionally collaborative environment. But most importantly, students will experience firsthand where patients, by the use of complex drug combinations and novel pharmaceutical treatments have their lives saved and enhanced. They will learn not to think of patients in the abstract but as people who need our help and advice and most particularly our expertise and care."

Ciaran Meegan, Head of Pharmacy Services, MMUH, said: "This exciting collaboration will mark a new chapter in the education of pharmacy students and the conduct of pharmacy practice research in the State. As well as this, all opportunities to conduct collaborative research between the RCSI and MMUH, with the view to improving patient journeys and outcomes will also be exploited."