Students from RCSI have launched the 7th edition of the RCSI Student Medical Journal (RCSIsmj). The RCSIsmj is produced entirely by RCSI students for students and staff. The journal aims to promote student authorship and to foster research, innovation and student participation with healthcare issues.

RCSIsmj is a multidisciplinary publication which includes articles and submissions from medical, physiotherapy, and pharmacy students. The articles range from original research, audits, and special interest pieces to the publication of abstracts, case reports, and elective reviews.

Article topics in this year's edition include the role of serotonin in myocardial infarction, new roles for thalidomide, as well as original research on cognitive impairment. Other articles explore the future of the white coat in medicine, the transvaginal cholecystectomy, and the use of the placebos.

For the first time, a debate was held to mark the launch of this year's RCSIsmj. The motion was 'This House believes that consenting individuals should be allowed to purchase and sell organs'. Dr Siobhán O'Sullivan, Chief Bioethics Officer, Department of Health, chaired the debate. Professor David Smith, Professor of Ethics at RCSI, proposed the motion while Professor Peter Conlon, Clinical Director of Transplantation Urology and Nephrology, Beaumont Hospital spoke in opposition.

This year the Ethics Challenge competition focuses on the topic of organ trade, and whether individuals should be allowed to buy and sell organs. The debate provided a starting point for students to consider the issue, and write a submission for next year's journal.

Professor Hannah McGee, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, RCSI, praised the dedication of the student editorial team. “The high quality of the journal is a result of a very cohesive and hard-working student team and the committed academic staff who support the students.

“The RCSIsmj provides a forum for students to present their research skills and interests at an early stage in their career, it gives students a better understanding of how research can be translated from the bench to the patients' bedside, which in turn leads to better clinical care and best practice patient care.”

The RCSIsmj is to provide a forum for RCSI student contributions to the field of medicine, in any discipline. The journal publishes student research ranging from basic laboratory science and clinical work to humanities analyses of medicine in society.

The goal of the RCSIsmj is to encourage student research, writing and submission for publication, whilst reaching a broad international readership through both our print and electronic versions of the journal.