RCSI today celebrated the conferring of over 600 new Fellows, Members and Diplomates from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and the Faculties of Radiologists, Dentistry, Nursing and Midwifery and Sports and Exercise Medicine.

Addressing the virtual ceremony, RCSI CEO/Registrar Cathal Kelly acknowledged the extra challenges recently faced by Irish healthcare workers due to the HSE cyberattack, saying: "It is more important than ever that we all continue to develop our professional skills and advance our knowledge and understanding through continued education and training. The RCSI global community join with me today in marking your great success."

The conferring included the first cohort of the Vhi Fellowship Training in Urgent Care Medicine, presented by Dr Brian Flavin, Programme Director of the Fellowship programme and Clinical Director of Vhi Swiftcare.

In Surgery, awards included Fellowships of RCSI in Cardiothoracic Surgery, General Surgery, Ophthalmology, Otolaryngology, Paediatric Surgery, Plastic Surgery, Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery, Urology and Vascular Surgery, and Fellowships Ad Eundem. Diplomas of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Memberships of RCSI and Memberships in ENT and Ophthalmology were also awarded.

Fellowships of the Faculty of Radiologists were awarded in Radiodiagnosis and Radiation Oncology. Fellowships of the Faculty of Dentistry Ad Eundem were awarded along with Memberships of the Faculty of Dentistry and Diplomas in Primary Care Dentistry. Also conferred in the ceremony were the Fellowships and Memberships of the Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery and Faculty of Sports and Exercise Medicine.

Aine Gibbons, Director of Development, Alumni Relations, Fellows and Members at RCSI, spoke to the new Fellows, Members and Diplomates about the significance of this event: "The importance of your conferring today cannot be overstated, recognising as it does the sincere commitment you are demonstrating to the profession, to your patients, and most of all to your endeavours towards surgical excellence. Never has there been a more challenging time to enter the healthcare workforce. We are so proud that you will represent us as ambassadors for RCSI."

RCSI President Professor P. Ronan O'Connell highlighted the impact that COVID-19 has had on the provision of scheduled care, and the implications for those being conferred. He said: "The difficult reality is that the two-dose regimen may not be enough and that a third round or indeed even more rounds of mRNA vaccination will be needed. While we wait for implementation, case numbers rise, and scheduled care is yet again curtailed. We must ensure that the price of COVID-19 is not the excess mortality of delayed diagnosis or untreated illness. This, I am afraid, is your challenge, but it is also your opportunity."

Professor O’Connell concluded his address with a quote from James Thurber, American cartoonist, author, humourist, journalist and playwright: "I write the way a surgeon operates: because it is a livelihood, because I have a great urge to do it, because many interesting challenges are set up, and because I have a hope it may do some good."

View the conferring ceremony:

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