DAY 557-561

Mar 12 - 16

1) Another week has passed. Literally two weeks after our mid-semesters, we have our OSCEs, after which we have another CR exam (two weeks following). As a result, there's barely time for a breather, as we struggle to keep up with the lectures. At least the weather's looking a lot better now -warm and sunny, and longer daylight.

2) But one can only hope that this is not a foreshadowing of the calm before the storm. After all, Met Ireland reports the return of the "Beast from the East" later this week, with three warnings already issued for heavy rains and gale force winds, and an alert for flooding in parts. While we have been largely affected thus far, only time will tell if the impact will be as large as it was with the previous encounter with the storm.

3) On Monday night, I participated in the RCSI Model United Nations, a collaboration between the RCSI MUN Society with UNICEF Society - to organise a keynote speech/ MUN conference. The title was "Syria - Paving the Road to Peace. Our guest speaker, Dr. Bismar, is an orthopaedic surgeon who travels to Syria and other conflict zones on medical missions. He gave his keynote speech detailing his experiences while in Syria, after which it was time for us - the delegates - to draft out a resolution ("solution") to the crisis.

4) As the delegate of USA, the onus was on me to draft a resolution to be debated upon. Other delegates formed their own alliances as well, and proceeded to draft out their resolutions. All in all, it was an exciting and informative session, as I really broadened my understanding of the crisis plaguing the Middle East. Innocent lives were being lost in a proxy war that has been going on for years, yet the coverage has been startlingly lacking, and *dare I say it* we've become desensitized to such depictions of violence and brutality in these regions.

5) Ultimately, the event was a huge success, and we were given our certificates of participation. I took the night bus back to Beaumont, reaching at around 11pm  - Beaumont is far ): Anyway, that was the gist of my week (the rest was just studying, eating, not getting enough sleep etc), so thanks very much for dropping by. Have a great weekend ahead, cheers!

Delegates of the world

Delegate of the United States of America

Dr. Bismar - orthopaedic surgeon and guest speaker of the conference :)

Night by the Liffey

Group photo again ^^

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!

The RCSI Malaysia (PMC) contingent 

(described by one of the senior students as "smart lads, always in the library XD)

Bread

Uni of  Novi Sad, Serbia

Uni of Alberta, Canada

Uni of Latvia, Latvia

Bukovinian State Medical Uni, Ukraine

Uni of Western Ontario, Canada

Uni of Toronto, Canada ^^

Manipal Uni, India

Uni of Rome Tor Vergata

Morning Tea Break

Yes, that's my "Exquisite Catering Service" XD

Group photo time :)

Dr. Anjali, our Keynote Speaker 3

Surgical Suturing on pig feet

Dr. Gary Bass, teaching us how to suture properly

And that's my hard work

Lunch was plain chicken sandwiches

Love is ...... ?

Some acronyms to remember during an emergency 

(Dr. Collin's lecture on Emergency Medicine)

Just couldn't resist making good use of my Samsung's excellent front camera

(it's just in our genes)

Dr. McHale's speech on Preventive Medicine (Keynote Speech 4)

Panoramic view of the event (after it finished, sadly)

Back to the old grind I guess haha

DAY 168

Feb 16

1) Today has been another long day. While the actual lecture hours weren't too bad (it was from 10-3 only), what made it horrible was the sheer volume of slides per lecture. The last two lectures for example, had 160+ slides between them! Imagine having to go through each and every one of them in order to pass our exams; it is enough to induce stress in anyone haha.

2) In the afternoon, my friends and I went over to the Unitarian Church, where there was a rehearsal for the Interfaith Celebration the following Monday. I will be reading a short, simple thanksgiving note, while most of my friends are either ushers or candle bearers. Practice took us around an hour, at which point we returned to RCSI. I went to the Anatomy Room, where most of my friends were - desperately trying to brush up on anatomy knowledge before their first Card Signing tomorrow (mine is next Friday ^^).

3) Later in the evening, Khee Heng and I went for ICHAMS 2017 (International Conference for Healthcare and Medical Students). It is a three-day event, with guest speakers and presentations of research projects by various students etc. The first event was Keynote Speaker, Mr. Ray Mc Kiernan, who gave an energy packed talk on "The Resilient Cliniciain - Building Resilience for Sustaining Performance in Clinical Practice". Afterwards, there was a smorgasbord of hors d'oeuvre, truly reflecting the wealth of our school to be honest XD. After a while, Khee Heng left to have dinner and study, while the rest of the group went to Harrys on the Green (a cocktail bar) for a pub quiz. I did not follow, but came back to the Coffee Doc to finish some work. That's all for today, and I hope you enjoyed reading about it. Thanks as always, and have a great day. Cheers!

ICHAMS 2017 @ RCSI

St. Stephen's Green today!

Unitarian Church

Early dinner today

Albert Lecture Theatre

Fine selection of hors d'oeuvre ^^