The RCPI Annual Conference 2024 will feature discussions on advancements in clinical practice,
the future role of physicians, and how healthcare policy is evolving
The RCPI has announced the line up for its Annual Conference this October. The full title of the conference is ‘Empowering a healthy nation – Evolution, progress, leadership, and practice’.
The theme, ‘Empowering a healthy nation’, builds on the College’s commitment to drive conversations with all healthcare stakeholders to define and deliver world-leading training and training environments that provide the highest standards of patient care and outcomes. There are 12 CPD credits available across the conference week.
During the conference, experts will explore clinical advances, the physician of the future, and the evolution of healthcare policy and delivery in a changing landscape.
Speakers include:
▶ Prof Rose Anne Kenny, founding Principal Investigator of The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) and author of the number one international bestseller, Age Proof: The New Science of Living a Longer and Healthier Life.
▶ Mr Francis Brennan, Hotelier, TV personality and author of Age is Just a Number.
▶ Ms Cathleen Biga, President of the American College of Cardiology.
▶ Prof David Burn, Honorary Fellow and Pro Vice-Chancellor (Medical Sciences) at Newcastle University, UK.
▶ Dr Siobhán Ní Bhriain, National Clinical Director for Integrated Care, HSE.
▶ Dr Colm Henry, Chief Clinical Officer, HSE, who will receive the prestigious St Luke’s Medal.
RCPI President Dr Diarmuid O’Shea looks forward to welcoming trainees, members, Fellows, healthcare professionals, and members of the public to No 6, Kildare Street.
“As doctors, we are committed to empowering a healthy nation. We do this by promoting individual health and wellbeing, addressing individual and population-based needs, by leading in healthcare delivery, quality improvement, and change.
“We can’t do this by simply caring for the patients who come to us when they are unwell. We do it through our advocacy and health promotion. We do it by managing patient care in partnership with the patient and the interdisciplinary healthcare team in communities and hospitals. We do it by meeting, discussing, and defining improved ways to train and work.
“The pace of change across the landscape in which healthcare is practised and delivered is rapid. Keeping up-to-date and ahead of this is challenging. Opportunities to meet in-person are more important than ever. RCPI’s Annual Conference creates and provides a space to meet and drive progress at the same time as we promote our own continuous professional development and patient care.”
Living a longer, healthier life
The conference opens with the annual public meeting on Tuesday 15 October from 5-7pm. In an age of misinformation and a myriad of wellness and longevity influencers, our experts lay out the facts and share their advice and golden rules to support your health and the health of your family from childhood to old age.
This lively conversation will include contributions from Prof Rose Anne Kenny and Mr Francis Brennan. The public meeting is open to anyone to attend and is free of charge.
Celebrating our past, enriching our future
On Wednesday 16 October, we celebrate two major milestones in RCPI history as Heritage Day 2024 kicks off from 9am. This year is the centenary of the admission of the first female Fellow, and marks 400 years since the birth of the RCPI’s founding President John Stearne, who established the then Fraternity of Physicians of Trinity Hall in 1654.
In November 1924, Dr Mary Hearn, a gynaecologist working at the Victoria Hospital for Women and Children in Cork, broke new ground in becoming the RCPI’s first female Fellow. Dr Hearn’s achievement paved the way for others; 100 years after her admission, over 600 women have become Fellows of the RCPI.
On this major centenary, we will celebrate the impactful contributions of pioneering female Fellows who have shaped the College’s legacy. Ms Harriet Wheelock, Keeper of Collections at the RCPI, will unpack the story that led to the admission of women as Fellows, and you will meet some distinguished Fellows from across our faculties and institutes who are changing the face of medicine.
Dr Robert Armstrong, Associate Professor in History, Trinity College Dublin (TCD), will share insights into Ireland during the time of John Stearne, while Dr Joe Harbison, Associate Professor, Medical Gerontology, TCD, will discuss the life and lasting influence of John Stearne.
Evolution, progress, leadership, and practice
How do we train the doctor of the future? With a growing, ageing, and increasingly complex population, how we train medical doctors and support them across their careers is fundamental.
St Luke’s Symposium on Thursday 17 October brings together local and international experts to explore how training, education, and practice should evolve to keep pace with and meet the demands of our population health needs.
Trainees will share their experience across a range of pathways in medicine, and speakers will share lessons in leadership, explore emerging topics, new frontiers in medical education, and clinical pearls impacting medical care and improving patient outcomes.
Ms Cathleen Biga will deliver a keynote address – ‘Leading teams to improve patient outcomes’.
Prof David Burn and Dr Siobhán Ní Bhriain will provide unique perspectives on the change necessary in healthcare training, education and delivery to support the physician and patient of the future.
Prof Burn will share his experience of how an academic health science system can improve the health of a region, and Dr Ní Bhriain will discuss the measures required to improve outcomes for patients in the Irish context.
They will then be joined by a panel featuring Dr Colm Henry to explore the topic further.
The afternoon sessions will focus on latest advances, clinical updates and insights and experiences from across a range of topics including cancer care and health inequalities, immunisation, balancing the antibiotic scale, and climate change and health.
Book your place at https://web-eur.cvent.com/event/a4805d22-7d9a-4987-ba9f-ed1b86393c6e/summary.
This article was produced by the RCPI.
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