A message from the President of RCSI

5 June 2025

Dear Fellows and Members,

This month marks one year since I assumed the role of President of RCSI. Our Fellows and Members are united in their determination to improve surgical care for patients, to safeguard the highest standards of training and practice, and to provide leadership in our health service. It has been an enormous privilege to lead our College, and I have enjoyed the role immensely.

When I started as President in June 2024, I outlined several year-one priorities. The first was the need to provide additional support to younger surgeons, particularly during the interval between undertaking RCSI Fellowship examinations and the early years of independent practice. Secondly, recognising the increasingly difficult climate in which surgeons train and practice, I wanted to ensure that RCSI Fellows and Members had opportunities to connect with one another, and had easy access to supportive resources. Third, I identified the challenges that our profession would face as a result of increasing public and regulatory interest in surgical practice and the resulting need to define best practice in clinical governance, so that it safeguards both patients and surgeons.

I am extremely grateful for the support of RCSI’s Council and our Fellows in enabling progress in each of these areas.

Providing career support

Over recent years huge progress has been made by the College in supporting core surgical trainees and aspiring Members through the Affiliate Membership programme. Building on the work of previous Councils, a key focus of my term as President has been to support surgeons who have recently become Fellows of RCSI, resulting in the launch of the RCSI Early Career Surgeon Network (ECSN) at the 2024 Millin Meeting.

Since its launch, the ECSN team has been working to highlight the challenges facing younger surgeons, and how ECSN can help, as featured in the recent article Peer Support for Surgeons in the most recent Surgeons Scope magazine. The network held their first regional dinner in Galway in September. In support of the ECSN, I hosted a President’s Reception for new Fellows at the Fellows and Members Conferrings in July and December.

The ECSN also hosted a dedicated symposium at the 2025 Charter Meeting. With contributions from Prof. Helen Heneghan FRCSI, Ms Christine Buckley FRCSI, Mr Michael Kelly FRCSI, Mr Peter Lonergan FRCSI, Prof. Joseph Butler FRCSI and Prof. Philip O’Halloran FRCSI, the network highlighted how early career surgeons are making a positive impact in many areas of our health service.

Under the leadership of ECSN Chair, Ms Christina Fleming FRCSI, Vice-Chair Mr Greg Nason FRCSI, Secretary Ms Emmeline Nugent FRCSI and Treasurer Mr Tristan Cassidy FRCSI, the network is planning a webinar on the topic of 'How to get a Consultant Job in Ireland' on Wednesday, 18 June and will also take part in the forthcoming President’s Reception at the Fellows and Members Conferring in July 2025 to connect with newly conferred Fellows and to encourage them to get involved.

Over the course of the last year, I have enjoyed many other opportunities to meet with and listen to early career surgeons. I was delighted to attend the Irish Surgical Trainee Group (ISTG) annual conference in February and to catch up with their chair Ms Megan Power-Foley MRCSI at the AIMS conference in Chicago in March. During the year, I took part in a panel discussion on career development at the Irish Pakistan Professionals Association in Kildare and was also honoured to be involved in the launch of the Irish Chapter of the Association of Women Surgeons (AWSI), supported by several RCSI Fellows including Ms Christine Quinlan FRCSI, Ms Abeeda Butt FRCSI, and Ms Gráinne Colgan FRCSI, led by Co-Chairs Suzanne Murphy MRCSI and Laura Staunton MRCSI. I also attended their Annual Conference just last month – and you can read a full report here.

During the year we have taken action to increase the voice of younger surgeons on our College committees with representatives of the ISTG and the ECSN joining as members of the Committee for Surgical Affairs and the Irish Surgical Postgraduate Training Committee, thanks to Committee Chairs Prof. John Quinlan FRCSI and Prof. Kevin Conlon FRCSI and our Council.

Early career surgeons still face challenges, but hopefully the supportive networks and practical initiatives that have now been established will provide guidance and increase the inclusion of early career surgeons in the RCSI community. Each of us can make a difference in ensuring that our community is one in which every surgeon feels a sense of belonging.

Creating a supportive community

The profession of surgery is demanding and in recent years especially, the environment in which surgeons work has become more difficult. Developing and maintaining supportive relationships with surgical colleagues is an important way to remain resilient and to keep abreast of changes.

Over the past year, I have had the pleasure of meeting surgeons around the country through attending meetings and conferences in Galway, Limerick, Waterford and Belfast as well as Dublin. We have also worked hard to keep Fellows and Members informed of College activities and events.

I was proud to work closely with our fantastic team to deliver the 2024 Millin Meeting, which saw almost 400 Members and Fellows, surgical trainees, NCHDs and researchers gather at RCSI for a varied and engaging meeting that focused on surgical research and training. In addition to hearing from international keynote speakers including Dr Ayesha Noorani, recipient of a Cancer Research UK Clinician Scientist Fellowship, and Dr Ori Rotstein, Vice President of Research and Innovation at Unity Health Toronto, we also survived a hugely interactive session led by Enda McNulty, former All-Ireland winning footballer and GAA All Star.

The meeting especially highlighted the excellent work of the National Surgical Research Support Centre (NSRSC), with an insightful panel discussion on the theme of Public and Patient Involvement (PPI). The 47th Millin Lecture, on the topic of 'Future-Proofing Surgical Training – A Template for New Technologies', was delivered by Ms Christina Fleming FRCSI to a full house and you can watch it back here. And, speaking of the Millin, don’t forget to save the date for the 2025 Millin Meeting – Friday, 14 November in RCSI.

It was only a few short months after Millin that we gathered again for the 2025 Charter Day Meetings. Over the course of the week, more than 600 Fellows, Members, surgical trainees and other healthcare professionals gathered at RCSI to focus on the theme 'Next Generation Surgery'.

Charter Week included several innovations to the usual programme. The busy team from the National Clinical Programmes in Surgery, Trauma and Orthopaedics, and Emergency Medicine hosted the annual Health Service Improvement and Innovation Conference, featuring a brand-new lunchtime event – the Educational Marketplace, an interactive learning experience that provided delegates with hands-on interactions with topic experts. On Wednesday night, we opened our Robotic Learning Village, featuring five different robotic platforms, enabling surgeons to get hands-on time on the consoles.

Other highlights of the week included the 32nd Carmichael Lecture delivered by Prof. Deirdre Madden, Professor of Law, University College Cork as well as a full auditorium for the 100th Abraham Colles Lecture, delivered by Prof. Fergal J. O’Brien, RCSI Deputy Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation.

On Saturday it was over to the Irish Surgical Trainee Group (ISTG) focusing on the theme of 'Surgeons as Leaders', where the formal proceedings of the week drew to a very special close with the Bosco O’Mahony Memorial Lecture, delivered by the incomparable Ms Dilly Little FRCSI, Consultant Urologist and Transplant Surgeon in Beaumont Hospital.

That afternoon, I was delighted to attend the very first RCSI Family Fun Day for the children, nephews, nieces and grandchildren of RCSI Fellows and Members. The brainchild of Caoimhe Ní Néill and our wonderful Fellows and Members team, during the Family Fun Day RCSI was a hive of activity as children of all ages took part in SIM tours and enjoyed arts, crafts and games. It was such a pleasure to see so many colleagues and children in the College – the energy was simply electric and the bigger children even had a chance to have an interactive experience of the SIM Centre. From what I saw, there are a few future surgeons among the offspring of Fellows and Members.

The date for next year’s Charter Meeting is Tuesday, 10 to Friday, 13 February 2026, so mark it in your diaries. I strongly encourage you to register early as many of the popular events are ‘sold out’ quickly – and remember that if you are In Good Standing you can avail of a discounted ticket.

It is a priority to keep you informed and up-to-date, so with the support of the Fellows and Members Office, I hope you will agree that we have given greater profile to the wealth and depth of knowledge, talent and stories that we have within our surgical community. The ‘Spotlight On...’ and ‘On Call With ...’ features now have a very regular readership and are a topic of discussion whenever members of our community meet each other. We are also trying to ensure that RCSI emails are targeted and relevant to your needs.

The launch of our new Fellows and Members Portal last June was an important first step in making it easier to connect with RCSI and with our surgical community. It’s a work in progress and we welcome your feedback.

Clinical governance

Surgery is undergoing rapid innovation with many changes to traditional teaching and training arising from the ongoing digital and technological revolution, as well as a significant restructuring of the health system here in Ireland. At the same time as surgeons are managing these challenges, the level of public interest in surgery has markedly increased. Like many of you, I am concerned about the ability of surgeons to practice safely in an environment where we do not always have the resources and support that we require to deliver optimal care.

In February 2025, I was delighted to launch the Guide to Good Practice for Robotic Surgery Governance in Ireland. Developed by Prof. Barry McGuire FRCSI and the Robotic Surgery Clinical Leads Group, this guide is a blueprint for how good clinical governance can support both innovation and safer care – and will provide a template for future governance projects. Now endorsed by the HSE, I was pleased to see it cited in the latest UK guidance for robotics document, clear recognition of the quality of the work undertaken by the Robotics Surgery Leads Group which continues to publish and produce recommendations in this ever-evolving area.

Furthermore, the extensive work undertaken by Mr Dara Kavanagh FRCSI and the Professional Development and Practice Committee, chaired by Mr Paddy Kenny FRCSI, to revise the RCSI Code of Practice for Surgeons is almost complete. Thanks to your feedback, the revised Code of Practice is an important document that highlights our guiding principles in good clinical care. It will be reviewed by RCSI Council in June and published soon.

Meanwhile, the Expert Group on Best Practice in Clinical Governance for Surgery that I established in June 2024 has been tasked with creating space for a conversation about what good clinical governance looks like and how we can ensure a system that works for patients and for surgeons. Chaired by Mr David Moore FRCSI, RCSI Council Member, this group led a dedicated symposium at the 2025 Charter Meeting and have recently completed a nationwide survey of our community that provides insight into existing challenges and best practice. It is already clear that additional supports are necessary to enable high-quality clinical governance. I know that you will agree that as we navigate the coming year, the work of this group will be central.

Looking forward

When a surgeon ties a knot, it must last a lifetime. Our profession’s unique insight into the long-term consequences of actions taken today provides an important perspective in an era that focuses on soundbites and quick fixes. As I start the second year of my Presidency, it’s clear that our profession faces challenging times. It remains an extraordinary privilege to be a voice for Irish surgery. Collectively, we have much to contribute. Most importantly, we have a duty to ensure that patients have the benefit of expert surgical care today and well-trained surgeons tomorrow.

Over the next year, we will continue our work to promote healthcare improvement, to foster clinical governance that protects patients and surgeons, and to ensure that surgeons find a supportive and inclusive community in RCSI.

I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to my colleagues on Council, our Fellows and Members, and the management and staff of RCSI for their support over the last year.

Within RCSI, I wish to acknowledge the work of Prof. Cathal Kelly, Kieran Ryan and the team in the Department of Surgical Affairs; the fantastic planning and organisation of RCSI’s Conference and Events team; and my wonderful colleagues in the Fellows and Members Office.

It is a pleasure to acknowledge the work of my colleagues on RCSI Council who are unstinting in their support and in their leadership. We are very fortunate to have such a dedicated and committed Council, whose members are determined to innovate and deliver for our global network.

Lastly, I wish to thank all of you – the opportunities that I have had to meet, speak and correspond with so many of you in Ireland and internationally have made it a year to remember. I am constantly struck by the depth of talent, commitment, and ambition found in our community. I look forward to meeting more of you in the next 12 months.

Yours sincerely, 

Professor Deborah McNamara
President, RCSI

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