The first study investigating the quality of postgraduate medical training in Ireland, using a validated tool, has identified both strengths and weaknesses present systematically and has demonstrated that the measurement of learning environments at a national level provides useful information for quality assurance and improvement of training.

A recent study investigating the training paths and career plans of junior doctors training on programmes under the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, found that the ‘exodus’ of Irish postgraduate medical trainees, which has been at the forefront of national discussion, is more complex than that which has been originally portrayed.

Friday 16th May - Waterford Regional Hospital was formally re-named ‘University Hospital Waterford’ (UHW) by the Minister for Health, Dr. James Reilly TD.

Wednesday 28 May - Professor Daniel J. Penny - Chief of Paediatric Cardiology at the Texas Children’s’ Hospital, and Professor of Paediatrics – Cardiology at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, receives the UCC Medical School Medal. Daniel entered UCC Medical School in 1979. In 1982 he was invited to read for an intercalated B.Sc. (Hons) in Physiology, graduating with 1st Class Honours in 1983.  He subsequently graduated M.B., B.Ch., B.A.O. in 1986, and interned in Medicine and Surgery at Cork University Hospital.

Students who are considering becoming an Occupational Therapy or Speech and Language Therapy professional can now turn to their peers who are ready to field their questions.

The first large-scale study into simulation-based medical training finds that proficiency-based training produces a significantly superior skill-set when compared to a traditional training programme.

The deadline is approaching for applications for the world’s first Master’s degree in End-of-Life Healthcare Ethics which begins next September in University College Cork.  May 2nd is the deadline for potential students to apply for both the course and the Scholarships which are being offered by the Irish Hospice Foundation (IHF).

A research study into private healthcare coverage and increased risk of obstetric intervention has just been published in BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth. 

This study was carried out by the National Perinatal Epidemiology Centre (NPEC) based in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at University College Cork.

A European consortium of clinicians and scientists has launched a major EU-funded collaboration project focused on the prevention of heart disease and stroke through food.  BACCHUS an acronym for ‘Beneficial effects of bioactive compounds in humans’ will receive €6 million in funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme.

Thursday 13 March 2014: Speaking in Washington at an event hosted by the Irish Science Foundation Ireland to celebrate links between Irish science and US industry as part of the St Patrick’s Day Festival, the Taoiseach, Enda Kenny TD, welcomed the announcement that the Cork-based Irish Centre for Fetal and Neonatal Translational Research (INFANT) has signed a research partnership with Waters Corporation.