A medical student from NUI Galway has won the grand final of the inaugural RCSI National Surgical Skills Competition in National Surgical Training Centre at RCSI.

Dómhnall O’Connor from Tullamore, Co. Offaly won the inaugural RCSI National Surgical Skills Competition after he competed in the grand final against 11 other regional finalists from the six medical schools in Ireland - RCSI, University of Limerick, Trinity College Dublin, University College Cork, University College Dublin and NUI Galway. 

Dómhnall demonstrated exceptional surgical skills in disciplines such as camera manipulation, object orientation and stacking. Second place was awarded to Ciaran Doherty, a medical student in Trinity College Dublin.

The RCSI National Surgical Skills Competition was organised by RCSI to give aspiring surgeons of Irish medical schools the opportunity to practise and compete in a range of surgical challenges, from suturing and knot-tying to undertaking key-hole surgery skills tests.

Explaining the competition, Mr Eunan Friel, Managing Director, RCSI Department of Surgical Affairs said: "As RCSI is the body responsible for setting the standards for surgical practice, training and examinations in Ireland; we strive to achieve the best outcomes for our patients. The medical students who competed here today are our future surgeons and we are delighted to have been able to give them the opportunity to experience relevant skills-based challenges at this early point in their careers.

"The RCSI National Surgical Skills Competition is a great opportunity for medical students to showcase their surgical skills and gain valuable surgical experience. The competition provides valuable practical experience to support the early skill development of the aspiring surgeons of tomorrow. The competition has been a great success and it is something we will definitely include on the annual surgical calendar.”

Commenting on the experience of competing and winning the final, Dómhnall said: "I'm delighted! I found the final of the competition to be challenging yet really thorough. No stone was left unturned in the competition and I found that all the necessary skills were included, which was really good. In particular, I really enjoyed using the simulators. The whole competition was great fun and I really learnt a lot. It's also been fantastic to meet the other finalists from other medical schools in Ireland.”