UCC Team Advances to National AIPEC Final Following Inspiring Interprofessional Event

23 Mar 2026

Collaboration in Action: UCC Students Tackle Breast Cancer Case at AIPEC Competition

On March 10th, three interprofessional student teams took part in UCC's annual AIPEC  local competition.

AIPEC is an intervarsity, interprofessional student competition and the College of Medicine and Health has been represented at AIPEC since 2019.

Our student teams demonstrated collaboration and compassion, working together to develop a patient management plan for a member of the Traveller Community diagnosed with breast cancer. The event brought together students, healthcare professionals, and community advocates to highlight the importance of inclusive, patient-centred care.

Congratulations to all students who took part representing Audiology, Dentistry, Medical and Health Sciences, Medicine, Nursing & Midwifery, Occupational Therapy, Paramedicine, Pharmacy and Physiotherapy and Social Work.

Professor Helen Whelton opened the event remarking on the positive energy and collaborative spirit of the student teams. The teams worked collaboratively over several weeks on a patient management plan for Mary, a member of the Traveller Community with breast cancer.

Their presentations were reviewed by a panel of expert judges: Ms Susan Walsh, Advanced Nurse Practitioner Breast Services, CUH; Ms Katie Cooke Chief II Pharmacist Oncology CUH; and Professor Mark Corrigan Surgical Oncologist, CUH.

We welcomed Biddy McDonagh and Jean O’Donoghue from the Traveller Visibility Group Cork. Biddy spoke of her breast cancer journey and described her experiences with all the healthcare professionals and teams involved her care. Biddy and Jean explained the challenges faced by members of their community in terms of cancer screening and going through a cancer diagnosis. The impact and importance of their work was evident as they support families and advocate for the Traveller Community. We thank Biddy and Jean for their rich contribution on the evening.

Thank you to the Irish Cancer Society representative Audrey Baker, Bon Secours Hospital Cork for supporting our event and providing information to the students and those in attendance on their work and support services.

Congratulations and best of luck to the winning student team who will represent us at the AIPEC final in Royal College of Surgeons Ireland on Thursday 26th March, against seven other University teams!

Winning Team:

Sorcha Cronin - Pharmacy

Tomás Cronin - Dentistry

Akshaya Indrakumar - Medicine

Katie O’Loughlin - Medical and Health Sciences

Gabriel Orhadje - Medicine

Samantha Mhlanga - Social Work

Laura Vesey - Occupational Therapy

Runners up:

For more on this story contact:

Dr Aoife Fleming  A.Fleming@ucc.ie

Vice Head for Interprofessional Learning at College of Medicine and Health