Chan Weng Kit's Blogspot: DAY 170

Feb 18

1) Today has been yet another jam-packed day for me. It was the second and last day of ICHAMS 2017, and things started with Poster Session C-D from 8.30-10.30am. Additional students/ researchers came to display their posters and talk about their research to the panel of judges. We had strong showings from Ukraine, Poland, London, India, Canada, Netherlands, Northern Ireland and of course the home team as well ^^ Afterwards, there was a short tea break, before Keynote Speaker 3, Dr. Anjali Rajadhyaksha (who hails from Cornell University), gave her speech on "Neuropsychiatric Disorders - From Bedside to Bench and Back".

2) Next, we had our third workshop, which was on "A Surgeon's Approach to Suturing". We were each given surgical equipment and a pig's foot - the objective being to practise closing an incision on the foot using surgical methods. Three techniques were taught to us - the first was by doing a surgical knot (a modified reef knot) using surgical tools, while the other two were manual, using the hands instead of scissors. All in all, a very informative session, and it was amazing just watching the surgeon (Dr. Gary Bass) tying knot after knot without even looking, and while engaging in conversation too! In his own words, he's probably carried out "65 million knots" in the course of his career XD

3) For lunch, we had chicken sandwiches, crisps, and some fruit. The next session was Workshop 4: "Emergency Medicine: Doctor or Detective?" The lecturer, Dr. Niamh Collins, used lots of acronyms to teach us on the importance of acting without delay in the case of an emergency. As you can well imagine, every single second counts when dealing with an emergency case, and finding the root of the problem is imperative to prevent irretrievable function of the body. Another highly entertaining and educational experience, and I'm sure many of the other participants will echo my sentiments.

4) From 3.00-4.00pm, we had Oral Session C-D, which comprised another 4 student researchers from various institutions giving an oral presentation on their summer research. In my opinion, the quality of presentation by all the participants was of a very high level, and one can certainly pick up hints of a great future researcher amongst them! The participants were grilled left right and centre by the judges, and yet they never failed to deliver with well organised and thoughtful answers. Anyway, after everyone had finished presenting, it was time for Keynote Speech 4 - Dr. Fionnula McHale, who delivered a speech entitled "Preventive Medicine: Understanding that Health is A Positive Vitality Rather Than Just the Absence of Disease".

5) Most of my friends did not stay behind for the Prize Giving and Closing Ceremony, but I did - just to see who did win. As I had expected, the best oral presentation was from RCSI's very own fourth year medical student, who did his research at St. George's Hospital in London. His research topic was concerning left ventricular function in Marfan Syndrome. It was a well deserved win in my opinion. There were also prizes for the Best Poster Presentation and the crowd favourite. The event concluded with the handing over of posts from the current board of organisers to the next year's board - the 2018 ICHAMS. After that, some of us had signed up for the social event - Champagne Dinner Reception and Gala Dinner at the Hilton Dublin Hotel - but I did not go for this (it cost €30), opting to go to the library instead. Bought a loaf of bread at Dunnes along the way, before having my dinner at Mercer Cafe. Tomorrow things should resume to normal, and I will have a lot of catching up to do, for next Friday's card-signing. That's all for today, and I hope you enjoyed reading about it. As always, thanks for reading, and enjoy the pictures. Cheers!