The importance of teamwork and communication among healthcare workers, and the educational interventions that can encourage a culture of collaboration in medicine are among the issues to be discussed during the annual RCSI Medical Professionalism Conference which takes place today.

Attendees will hear from experts and patient advocates who will discuss the importance of teamwork and communication among healthcare professionals and explore educational interventions that can encourage active collaboration in medical practice.

Dr Suzanne Crowe, president of the Irish Medical Council, will draw on her experience in paediatric intensive care and her role as a clinical lecturer to outline best practices for fostering a culture of partnership and cooperation among the next generation of healthcare professionals.

Dr Michael Rosen, a human factors psychologist and Professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine will discuss how he has improved teamwork training in healthcare and explore his work leading NASA and DARPA-funded projects on measuring team workload and resilience in astronauts.

Dr Paul Gaffney, lead consultant in high-performance sport clinical psychology with Sport Ireland Institute, will discuss how applied his expertise in sports psychology to prepare athletes and coaches for the 2024 Olympics and how his approach can be applied to medical practice.

Chair of Medical Professionalism at RCSI, Professor Denis Harkin, said: “RCSI’s Centre for Professionalism in Medicine and Health Sciences provides global leadership in medical professionalism to achieve excellence in patient care and experience, caring for those who care, and promoting a healthier society. Our fifth annual RCSI Medical Professionalism Conference on 'Teamwork in Healthcare: Working Together with Passion, Purpose and Professionalism' brings together experts from healthcare, academia and patient advocacy to share their vision by livestream to our worldwide community of how teamwork can empower patients and staff to thrive in healthcare."

Dr Crowe, Dr Rosen and Dr Gaffney are just some of the influential leading experts that will be speaking at the conference.

More information on the full panel of speakers can be found here.