More than 600 students from post-primary schools throughout Ireland got a taste for life as a medical, pharmacy and physiotherapy student at the RCSI Open Day which took place at the College on St Stephen’s Green in Dublin on Wednesday, 3 January 2018.

This day-long event focused on medicine, pharmacy and physiotherapy and provided students with an opportunity to get first-hand insights into what it would be like to be an RCSI student while the workshops offered students the opportunity to witness real and simulated patients being treated.

Highlights of the interactive workshops included seeing simulated patients in real scenarios, including mannequins that simulate birth, and Real Life surgery where students experienced what it is like to be in the operating theatre in Beaumont Hospital by viewing a gallbladder operation.

Students also got hands-on experience by performing surgical stitching and suturing on dummy patients, and casting on RCSI staff and fellow students. Physiotherapy workshops used hands-on practical methods to show students the role of a physiotherapist in the management of acute injury such as ankle sprain, as well as showing how 3D movement analysis enhances understanding of problems affecting walking and balance. Students also got the chance to experience the art of drug formulation and delivery in the pharmaceutics labs workshop.

Speaking on the Open Day, Professor Hannah McGee, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, RCSI said: “The annual Open Day is a great opportunity for post-primary students to get a sense of the student experience at RCSI. This is the first undergraduate Open Day to include 26 York Street, and we were able to accommodate many more students (over 600) this year as they were rotated between lectures and experiential activities. We were delighted to see prospective students experiencing the facilities at this world-class learning environment and getting an insight into the quality of the innovative education we provide at RCSI.” 

“The day takes a lot of effort from a dedicated team of staff across Departments to showcase RCSI at its best and I thank them sincerely on behalf of us all." Professor McGee concluded.

RCSI is ranked among the top 250 (top 2%) of universities worldwide in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings (2018) and its research is ranked first in Ireland for citations. 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.