Today, approximately 120 Transition Year students from the south-east of Ireland will commence the four-day Waterford RCSI (Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland) Transition Year MiniMed training programme from Tuesday 16-19 February, held in University Hospital Waterford (UHW) and Waterford Institute of Technology.

This interactive programme gives Transition Year students the opportunity to step out of their usual classroom setting and experience what it is like to train and work as a doctor.

As part of the programme, the students will get the opportunity to witness a live laparoscopic cholecystectomy, or ‘keyhole' surgery to remove a patient's gallbladder, on Wednesday 17 February, which will be broadcast from a live video link from a surgical theatre in Beaumont Hospital, Dublin. Tiny cameras will show the inside of the patient as the RCSI healthcare professionals perform the procedure. Students will be able to interact with the surgical teams by asking questions, and vice-versa, all while being talked through the operation in real time. 

During the programme, students will also attend interactive lectures, receive hands-on training in clinical skills, CPR, first aid and will get the chance to test out their own surgical skills using virtual reality simulators. As well as this, TY students will receive practical experience in medicine and scientific tutorials on subjects such as radiology, paediatrics, obstetrics, psychiatry and forensics to name but a few.

The 2016 RCSI Waterford MiniMed Programme is being coordinated by Professor Riona Mulcahy, Undergraduate Dean, Senior Lecturer in Medicine, RCSI and UHW; Professor Fred Jackson, Senior Educator in the Department of Medicine, RCSI and UHW; and Mr Joe O'Beirne, RCSI Council Member and Honorary Senior Lecturer in Orthopaedics at RCSI and UHW.

Speaking on the course, Professor Arnold Hill, Head of the RCSI School of Medicine said: "‘The Waterford TY MiniMed programme is an excellent opportunity for students in the south-east of the country to experience what it is really like to train as a healthcare professional and it doesn't get much more hands-on than watching a live surgery. This week students will spend time in a hospital learning environment where they will use and learn about the latest innovative technology in medicine from some of Ireland's top healthcare professionals at RCSI and University Hospital Waterford. This experience will give them an excellent insight into the myriad of careers available in medicine, science and research."