Chan Weng Kit's Blogspot: Poster Session

Sunday, 18 February 2018

DAY 537

Feb 18-20

1) After spending the night with some friends, I went back to RCSI to register for the third and last day of the International Conference for Healthcare and Medical Students (ICHAMS) 2018. The schedule for today was as follows - Poster Session B, Oral Session C, Keynote 3, Lunch, Poster Session C, Workshop, Oral Session D, Tea Break, Keynote 4, followed by the Closing Ceremony and optional Black Tie Dinner.

2) I spent most of the morning rehearsing for my poster presentation after lunch (Poster Session C - 13.00-14.30). During lunch, we had the opportunity to listen to research carried out by past students of the RCSI Collaborative Research: The John Bradley Clinical Research Summer School, Michael Garron Hospital, Toronto. Quite a number of my Canadian friends had taken part last year, and were presenting their posters today. It was thoroughly entertaining listening to each one of their research focuses, and to appreciate the rich diversity of projects available to candidates.

3) At 13.00, the judges came over to do their rounds. I was one of the first to be assessed - 3 minutes speaking time, with 2 minutes for questions. Before I knew it, I was wrapping up and being bombarded with questions. I tried to answer as best I could, and they nodded in approval. Job done, I thought. As I opened a bag of crisps and stared at another poster - in a vain attempt to prevent myself from overthinking about my just concluded presentation - I was approached by two girls, Hazel and Meghan. Apparently they had been following my blog too, and we had a nice chat about my research projects last summer.

4) At 14.30, I went for the second workshop: Workshop G - Physio in high-caliber athletics. Mr Aidan Woods (Head Physiotherapist at the inaugural European Games 2015 in Baku and the London 2012 Olympics) gave the presentation, going through some practical examples - including two case studies on the role of physiotherapy in giving athletes the green light to compete at major championships. It was fascinating to obtain a different perspective and approach towards healthcare, especially for top-level athletes. The chances of litigation due to an oversight are enormous, but so are the payoffs - seeing an athlete fulfil their lifelong dream of starting a race, even with an injury.

5) Our last keynote speech was by Dr. David Rowe - general physician and thought leader in the emergent area of Health, Happiness, and Wellbeing Wisdom. It was an inspiring talk that beckoned us to practice more gratitude and gratefulness. After a mesmerising dance duet by Robert Prein and Mayke van Veldhuizen, it was time for the closing ceremony. The winner of the Best Oral Presentation went to none other than Joshua! Congratulations to him, and job well done to all.

6) As it was getting dark, we decided against staying back for the Black Tie Dinner at NoLIta. I walked all the way back to Eden Quay, and took Bus 27b back home.That concludes ICHAMS 2018, and I hope you enjoyed reading about it. Thanks for visiting, and have a lovely weekend. Cheers! :)

ICHAMS 2018 was a huge success!

With Dr. Sara O'Neill

(ICHAMS Faculty Advisor since it's inception)

Hazel had us posing like that

(and then didn't maintain it so the picture's a tad blurry XD)

Me: Until the next one guys :')

Congratz Joshua on a thoroughly deserved win :D

Dr. Mark Rowe was the fourth and final Keynote Speaker of the conference

Dr. Mark Rowe -

talking about how an arson tragedy in the past turned out to be the most important lesson in his life

ICHAMS 2018 draws to a close ~~

"K bye"

- Melissa

Saturday, 18 February 2017

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!