Students from RCSI have launched the 11th edition of the RCSI Student Medical Journal (RCSIsmj). RCSIsmj is produced entirely by RCSI students and aims to promote student authorship and to foster research, innovation and student participation in healthcare issues.

The 2018 publication was led by a team of students headed by Director, Jenna Greers and Editor-in-Chief, Suzanne Murphy together with an Executive Committee. The online version of the journal is now published and is available to view and download from the RCSIsmj website.

Speaking at the launch, Professor Hannah McGee, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, RCSI said: ‘Since its inception more than a decade ago, the RCSIsmj has provided a superb platform for our undergraduate students to showcase and publish their research. 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 success of the RCSIsmj is dependent on the dedication and commitment of students carrying out research, together with their academic supervisors who have supported and encouraged student research projects'.

‘As we celebrate another edition of the RCSIsmj, I congratulate all who have been involved over the year, their contribution to the RCSI's overall research profile and reputation has been invaluable. The success of this publication is dependent on the dedication and enthusiasm of the RCSIsmj student-led team'.

Topics in this year's edition include evolving therapies for Parkinson's disease; the impact of cortical inhibition on patients with schizophrenia; and the recent increase in synthetic biologic agents and their future role in treating conditions from E.coli infection to HIV.

To mark the launch of the 11th edition, a lively debate on ethics, chaired by Dr Siobhan O'Sullivan, Chief Bioethics Officer for the Department of Health, was held last Thursday in the Albert Lecture Theatre on the topic ‘This house believes that healthcare professionals have an ethical and legal right to conscientiously object to certain medical practices'. Supporting the motion was Dr Fiona O'Hanlon, GP practising in Co Cavan and RCSI alumnus and opposing the motion was Dr Siobhan MacHale, Consultant Liaison Psychiatrist at Beaumont Hospital. The motion was defeated. The debate provides a starting point for students to consider the issue, and write a submission for next year's journal as part of the Ethics Challenge 2018/2019.

The RCSIsmj launch event included the presentation of the 2017/18 Ethics Challenge prize to medical student Moyowa Boyo for her essay ‘Bariatric surgery for adolescents'. Moyowa's winning essay features in the current edition of the RCSIsmj.