RCSI has opened a new, state-of-the-art building at No. 26 York Street in Dublin’s city centre, consolidating its role as a global leader in the provision of education, training and lifelong learning for healthcare leaders of the future.

The new €80m building, designed to provide hands-on practical, professional healthcare training in multiple learning and study environments, is the largest and most modern facility of its kind in Europe. The facilities at 26 York Street provide a world-class clinical learning environment attuned to the needs of a changing healthcare world, delivering a truly transformative clinical learning experience.

This development reinforces RCSI’s position as a world-leading centre for professional education, research and innovation in healthcare.

The centrepiece of this spectacular 10-storey building is the 12,000sq.ft. Simulation Centre, laid out over three full floors. Here, students and healthcare professionals have access to best in class surgical and training suite with clinical skills labs, mock operating theatre and clinical training wards.

Professor Cathal Kelly, RCSI Chief Executive said: “In a world where continuous professional development and reaccreditation is essential, these new facilities provide a national capacity for surgeons to refresh their skills and to avail of innovative techniques and international advancements. No. 26 York Street represents a world-class clinical learning environment, enabling a truly transformative clinical learning experience.”  

The new facilities also enable the formalised teaching of the interpersonal skills that are necessary to be an excellent surgeon and team leader. RCSI is the only surgical training college in the world to offer a comprehensive Human Factors training course integrated into the surgical curriculum.

RCSI has used a simulation model since 2003 to teach at undergraduate level, but the new facilities at No. 26 York Street move postgraduate surgical training in Ireland to a new level.

Professor Hannah McGee, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences in RCSI said: “RCSI has always given students early patient contact and encouraged early acquisition of practical skills. This new building represents a move away from the apprenticeship model, where undergraduate teaching of skills for Medicine, Physiotherapy, Pharmacy and Physician Associate students were learned on the job. Many of these skills will now be learned through the simulation of real situations, enabling essential skills to be learned and mastered before patients are operated on.” 

The new building complements the traditional 207-year-old RCSI building on St Stephen’s Green on the corner of York Street. This blend of tradition and modernity with the two buildings facing each other across York Street, creates a vibrant campus atmosphere for RCSI’s 3,200 students of Medicine, Pharmacy and Physiotherapy.

RCSI is ranked among the top 250 (top 2%) of universities worldwide in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings (2018). It is an international not-for-profit health sciences institution, with its headquarters in Dublin, focused on education and research to drive improvements in human health worldwide. RCSI is a signatory of the Athena SWAN Charter.