The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) welcomed 70 prospective mature and graduate students to an open evening held in the College this week. This RCSI Open Evening provides graduate applicants with the opportunity to learn about undergraduate degree programmes in Pharmacy and Physiotherapy and learn about the application process to the Mature Entry Pathway (MEP) to Medicine.

Professor Hannah McGee, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, addressed the prospective students, giving them an overview of the College and introducing various staff members. Workshops were laid on by the Schools of Pharmacy, Physiotherapy and Medicine.

The Schools of Pharmacy (organised by Professor Paul Gallagher, Dr. Ben Ryan and Michelle Flood) and Physiotherapy workshops (led by Professor Marie Guidon and Dr Helen French) focused on curriculum, clinical education and the practicalities of entering a health science programme as a graduate. Academic staff were on hand to answer a range of questions regarding the application, interview process, structure and content of the programmes.

The academic staff were assisted by mature entry student panels from each of the Schools of Pharmacy, Physiotherapy and Medicine who provided the attendees with detailed personal experiences of the admissions process and their lives at RCSI. On the Pharmacy student panel was Sharon Sutton, Owen Sullivan, Cathal McDermott and Blaithin Arnold. The Physiotherapy student panel was made up of Alison Kearon, Catherine Sadlier, Deidre Conlon and Zita McAlister.

The Mature Entry Medicine student panel, led by Dr. Maria Morgan and Celeste Golden, whose diverse backgrounds included nursing, engineering, teaching, healthcare, science and even the Irish Navy, presented an enlightening Q&A session in the O'Flanagan Lecture Theatre. The panel consisted of Michael Walsh, Colin Irwin, Michelle Ohle, Suzanne McDonnell, Kimberly Kelly, Orla Smith, Colm McCourt and Dr Enda Barron. Dr Barron, who graduated in June 2012, provided a great insight into his own RCSI experience and life as an intern at Beaumont Hospital.

Céleste Golden, Admissions Officer, who presented an information session on how to apply to RCSI, the various entry pathways, academic eligibility, tuition and living costs, and student clubs & societies said, ‘Open Events are extremely important for RCSI and particularly for Graduate and Mature students who are considering their return to education. Feedback has been excellent and the success of RCSI's Open Events is down to the efforts of our students and staff who give up their time to collaborate and inform prospective students; many of tonight's attendees will decide RCSI is their College of choice.'