Foundation year medical and physiotherapy students from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) have raised a total of €4,823.75 for the Irish Hospice Foundation (IHF) in a series of fundraising events.

As part of a module on professionalism, co-ordinated by Dr Celine Marmion, Senior Lecturer in Pharmaceutical & Medicinal Chemistry, the students were tasked with raising funds while publicising a report called ‘Primary Palliative Care in Ireland: Identifying Improvements in primary care to support the care of those in their last year of life'.

16 students, divided into groups of four, organised events in the RCSI campus in April 2012. These events, consisting of a bachelor/bachelorette auction, a table quiz, a video games night, a talent show and a bake sale, proved to be very popular with other students.

Marie Lynch, Programme Development Manager of the IHF, said that the money raised will contribute towards 50% of a grant committed to develop a six-week palliative physiotherapy programme for people with motor neurone disease (MND) in a community setting, linking with the national MND clinic in Beaumont. The cheque was presented to Mary Millea, Business Development Manager of the Irish Hospice Foundation.