Postgraduate Diploma in Health Professions Education

RCSI’s Health Professions Education Centre (HPEC Dublin) and the Professional Development Unit (RCSI Bahrain) launched the Postgraduate Diploma in Health Professions Education. The programme

aims to support the faculty in their teaching role and to contribute significantly to their professional development.

Around 30 staff signed up for the course and a mix of 10 RCSI Bahrain faculty and clinicians from teaching hospitals were shortlisted to start in March. Professor Teresa Pawlikowska, Director of HPEC, and Dr Martina Crehan, Curriculum Innovator, delivered the first module of the programme and will deliver additional modules at a later stage.

“I am very happy to be in Bahrain to deliver the same programme that was delivered in Dublin, said Professor Pawlikowska, “and to contribute to the professional development of the faculty.”

Dr Kathryn Strachan, Head of Professional Development Unit (PDU) advised that “this programme is not only in line with RCSI Bahrain’s strat-egy for teaching and learning, but is also consistent with the Kingdom of Bahrain’s National Strategy to achieve excellence in teaching. We hopeto run the programme again in the new academic year.”

Visit from Johns Hopkins University

On March 10, Dr. Mahmoud Malas, a Director from Johns Hopkins University, visited RCSI Bahrain senior staff and discussed a potential collaboration between the two establishments.

Dr Malas is Associate Professor of Surgery and Director of the Center for Surgical Trials, as well as the Director of the Vascular and Endovascular Clinical Research Center at Johns Hopkins University. During his visit, he met with RCSI Bahrain President Professor Sameer Otoom, Vice President for Academic Affairs Professor Joe McMenamin and clinical academic staff, followed by a tour of the campus.

During the meeting, discussions centred on the potential collaboration between RCSI Bahrain and Johns Hopkins University’s Clinical Research Center for Vascular Surgery, and also on establishing a combined research and clinical (surgery) elective programme for RCSI Bahrain students at Johns Hopkins’ research facilities.

Dr Malas spoke highly of one of RCSI Bahrain’s graduates who currently works for him in his research laboratory. The graduate is now planning

to enter a surgical residency programme in the US and Dr Malas said he found this doctor to be excellently trained and of the same academic calibre as a Johns Hopkins’ graduate.

It was his positive experience with this doctor which led Dr Malas, to meet academic staff at RCSI Bahrain and discuss the possibility of further collaboration between them.

For the first time since the launch of the Global Greening Initiative, RCSI Bahrain took part in the campaign by lighting the campus green for three days, from St Patrick’s Day, March 17 until March 20. Global Greening is an annual initiative by Tourism Ireland to promote overseas tourism, in which major landmarks and iconic sites around the world are illuminated green for St Patrick’s Day.

Some of the sites which have gone green in previous years are Niagara Falls (on both the US and Canadian sides), the London Eye, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Burj Al Arab in Dubai, the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, and the Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland, Paris.

For the first time in Bahrain, the University joined the list of iconic landmarks as it too underwent ‘a greening’ for St Patrick’s Day.

To see various Global Greening photos from around the world, check Instagram with the hashtag #GoGreen4PatricksDay

RCSI Bahrain goes green to celebrate St Patrick’s Day

RCSI participates in ICMID Bahrain 2015

RCSI Bahrain was a main participant at the recent International Collaborative Conference in Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ICMID) Bahrain 2015. Organised by the Bahrain Medical Society, with the participation of more than 500 Arab and European healthcare professionals, ICMID Bahrain 2015 was the first International Collaborative Conference in Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases in the Middle East with collaboration between Bahrain, GCC and UK. It was held under the patronage of HRH Prince Khalifa Bin Salman Al-Khalifa, the Prime Minister. The conference aimed to provide medical professionals with the knowledge and practical skills necessary to initiate and spread change within their respective hospitals and institutions in relation to the development, delivery and measurement of antimicrobial stewardship within hospitals.

At a press conference following the meeting, ICMID 2015 Chairman, Dr Manaf Alqahtani, Senior Lecturer at RCSI Bahrain, announced the conference recommendations pertaining to the following themes: healthcare, patient safety, education, training, research and community health.Dr Alqahtani commented: “It is a privilege and an honour to host this significant collaboration between distinguished experts from Bahrain, The British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (BSAC), and The Saudi Society for Medical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (SSMMID), as well as other prominent speakers from around the world. RCSI Bahrain contributed significantly towards the success of this event.” Dr David Misselbrook, Senior Lecturer in Family Medicine at RCSI Bah-rain, a member of the organising committee, played a key role in facilitat-ing the continuing medical education (CME) approval for the conference.One of the keynote speakers was Professor Samuel McConkey, Head of Department of International Health & Tropical at RCSI, whose talk was titled “Ebola outbreak: How prepared are we?”

An exhibition was also held alongside the conference, through which research projects and opportunities at the University were showcased.Professor Joe McMenamin, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Head of School of Medicine at RCSI Bahrain, received an award on behalf of the University for its commendable role in facilitating the conference.

RCSI Bahrain participates at Economic Development Board (EDB) meeting

On March 5, Professor Sameer Otoom – President, and Professor Joe McMenamin – Vice President for Academic Affairs, attended an EDB meeting on Bahrain’s competitiveness. The objective of the meeting was to understand how competitiveness can be measured and influenced. It aimed to stimulate an open discussion about Bahrain’s position, how it reflected in the Global Competitiveness Report and how it can be improved in ways that will ultimately offer private businesses a more attractive operating environment and new growth opportunities.The session proved very informative, with RCSI Bahrain gaining insight into Bahrain’s global positioning which provides us with a platform on which we can build our own reputation, along with Bahrain.

Since 2004, the World Economic Forum’s annual Global Competitiveness Report (GCR) has been dedicated to analysing the competitiveness of economies around the world. The WEF has formally defined competitiveness as the set of institutions, policies, and factors that determine the level of productivity of a country.

The WEF’s Global Competiveness Index (GCI) is the best-known mechanism for evaluating the competitive standing of countries. It is a composite index evaluation of the position of more than 140 countries over 12 different pillars.

GCI is widely used by investors to evaluate the economic attractiveness of countries, as well as being an important tool for informing policy-makers worldwide.

Bahrain’s competitiveness lies in its access to human capita; a strategic location; its well-developed financial markets and the widespread use of technology within the business environment.With this in mind, the Economic Development Board (EDB) – the agency responsible for formulating the future economic development strategy of Bahrain – set up the Competiveness Unit, which aims to become a catalyst in changing specific policies to enhance Bahrain’s business environment.

Nursing Career in Bahrain video presented to BDF RMS

On January 15, a delegation from RCSI Bahrain led by its President, Professor Sameer Otoom, visited the Bahrain Defence Force Hospital (BDF) to showcase a video about the nursing profession in Bahrain.

The team met with Major General (Prof.) Khalid Bin Ali Al Khalifa, Director of Royal Medical Services (BDF RMS) to present him with a copy of the video, titled Nursing Career in Bahrain, which was produced by BSc Nursing Programme Director and nursing lecturer, Ms Eman Tawash as part of her PhD.

Filmed in the BDF Hospital with the participation of two BDF nurses who graduated from RCSI Bahrain, the video aims to portray a positive image of the nursing profession in Bahrain and encourage more high-school students to consider nursing as a future career option.

As well as being helpful for research purposes, the video can also be used as a marketing tool for nursing recruitments in RCSI Bahrain, BDF and King Hamad University Hospital (KHUH). Dr Ghada Ameen, Professor Joe McMenamin, Professor Martin Corbally, Ms Julie Sprakel and Ms Eman Ahmed Tawash were in attendance.

The video can be viewed on the RCSI Bahrain You Tube channel, www.youtube.com/rcsibahrain

Bahrain Medical Society discuss collaboration with RCSI Bahrain

On February 3, board members of the Bahrain Medical Society (BMS) visited RCSI Bahrain to discuss future collaboration between the two entities.

Among the attendees were BMS President - Dr Mohammad Rafi; Vice President - Dr Ghada Al Qassim; General Secretary - Dr Manaf Al Qahtani; and members Dr Noora Butti and Dr Maram Al Sharbati.

The BMS delegation were given a tour of the University facilities and attended a presentation on RCSI Bahrain by Professor Joe McMenamin, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Head of School of Medicine.

At the end of their visit, Dr Rafi presented RCSI Bahrain President, Professor Sameer Otoom, with a trophy in recognition of the University’s

participation in the Medical Administration Forum organised by BMS.

A Delegation from the Arab Health board visits the University

Another collaboration with RCSI Bahrain was discussed last month when a delegation from The Arab Board of Health Specializations (ABHS) visited the University. On February 16, The Secretary General of ABHS, Professor M Hisham Al-Sibai and other board members, were welcomed by Professor Sameer Otoom and a selection of RCSI Bahrain’s senior management team.

They discussed potential areas of collaboration in relation to examination and in providing continuing medical education activities to Board members.

The meeting also focused on RCSI’s Basic Surgical Training programme (accredited by ABHS) and its implementation in local hospitals in Bahrain. Following their tour of the campus, the delegation expressed how impressed they were with how much the University had achieved in such a short time.

Foundation-year students to complete Professionalism elective through outreach programme

As part of RCSI Bahrain’s Foundation year curriculum, students have been given the opportunity to gain academic credits for their participation in the University’s Outreach programme through the “Professionalism” elective. Students gain credits for attending selected community groups on a voluntary basis and completing a report or presentation of their experiences.

This year, 50 students were placed in eight different locations.

The programme provides an opportunity for students to explore issues related to the population of Bahrain and to understand the valuable work carried out by many charity organisations.

For many undergraduate students, this was their first experience of volunteer work, providing them with great exposure both professionally and personally in pushing boundaries and looking from a different perspective.

Students’ roles range from supporting programmes using either evidence-based research, or an observational or hands-on approach, to understanding the running of a national government organisations (NGO) or educating children with contemporary teaching strategies.

Bahrain Mobility International is one of the organisations hosting students from the RCSI Outreach programme. Students Lulwa Al Musallam, Rana Al Najjar, Rama Nakdali and Reem Ahmed Al Abbasi are half way through their placement at Bahrain Mobility International.So far, their roles have included supporting staff at the centre to prepare for the return of students after a holiday period. They have also been supporting teaching staff, organising theme days, supporting the running of the centre and observing physiotherapy interventions.

Of her experience, student Reem Al Abbasi said: “The time spent at Bahraini Mobility International allowed me to experience life from a different perspective. I have realised that life should be full of hope, optimism, confidence and trust for a better tomorrow. I wouldn’t describe the people I met as ‘disabled’, but rather as people with inspiration and challenges. This experience taught me that with determination, nothing is impossible.”

Special thanks to the respective teams at Little Starz Pre School, Be Free Centre, Alia for Early Intervention, Durrat Al Riffa Senior Social Club, RIA,

Think Inc, Charity Challenge and Bahrain Mobility International.

RCSI Bahrain’s annual Charity Challenge

It has emerged that cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the Middle East over the past few decades, with cardiovascular disease causing 45% of early deaths in the Gulf region.The prevalence of coronary heart disease is in part due to the high prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors such as smoking, hypertension, dyslipidemia (cholesterol), diabetes and a sedentary lifestyle. Healthy improvements to one’s lifestyle such as reducing calorie intake and increasing physical activity can support cardiac health. This was the inspiration behind RCSI Bahrain’s third annual Charity Challenge.In collaboration with Bahrain Financial Harbour (BFH) and in association with the Shaikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa Cardiac Centre at the Bahrain Defence Force (BDF) Hospital, the University organised the Charity Challenge event on March 28 at the BFH’s West Tower.

The personal challenge for RCSI Bahrain staff and students, along with tenants and staff from BFH, was to climb the 40 floors of BFH’s West Tower. Through this event, the Charity Challenge team aimed to increase awareness of cardiovascular disease and raise funds to purchase cardiac stents for the Sh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa Cardiac Centre Speaking about the Charity Challenge, Dr Declan Gaynor, Foundation Cycle Director at RCSI Bahrain, said “Cardiovascular fitness and health is a cornerstone of a long and healthy life. Each year at RCSI Bahrain we createchallenges that we hope will highlight the health benefits of exercise to the population of Bahrain. This year we have challenged each participant to climb 40 floors and we hope their experience and contribution to this worthy cause will inspire them and others to continue an active and healthy lifestyle.”

RCSI Bahrain’s first Interprofessional education session

According to the World Health Organization, interprofessional education occurs when students from two or more professions learn about, from, and with each other, to enable effective collaboration and improve health outcomes.

On March 3, RCSI Bahrain conducted its first Interprofessional Education (IPE) session with students from the University’s School of Medicine (SC1) and School of Nursing & Midwifery (N3).

The title of this session was “Conditions that threaten women’s lives in childbirth and pregnancy”. The session was delivered in the format of a World Café, where the students were divided into 10 groups of four, each with a captain to facilitate discussion.

The session began with a brief overview and an introduction to IPE. As well as considering obstetric emergencies, the students discussed cultural contexts; the roles and responsibilities of the health professional team and communication and ethical issues.

Participants also watched a series of brief videos at www.healthtalk.org; CPR of a pregnant woman; maternity care in a clinic in India; patients whose lives were threatened by problems during childbirth and pregnancy including post-partum haemorrhage and eclampsia with

HELLP Syndrome.

The session was organised and conducted by Ms Maeve Royston and Professor Andrew Curtain from the School of Medicine, and assisted by Ms Catherine Abouzaid and Dr Maryam Alaradi from the School of Nursing & Midwifery.

Initially, the students seemed anxious and needed encouragement to engage, but by the end of the session, they participated actively and seemed to enjoy RCSI Bahrain’s new interprofessional learning opportunity.

Medical Research Symposium

Research is an integral part of the medical field, and involving students at an early stage is key to the success of a generation that can pioneer research in the University, in Bahrain and further afield.

To expand research awareness and student involvement in research, The Medical Research Society works in collaboration with the School of Postgraduate Studies and Research to achieve this goal.

As part of its ongoing work, The Medical Research Society hosted a symposium on February 21. The event, which featured speakers from KHUH, university faculty and alumni students, focused on the importance of research and why it is key to success in the field of medicine.

The symposium also featured interactive workshops on various topics such as how to start doing research, get published, and use research software. An interactive panel discussion was centred on a topic called “The ‘Why’ of Research”. In addition to oral presentations about re-search, an interesting collection of posters have been on display featuring research by students and doctors.

Kuwaiti Society’s Cultural event

The Kuwaiti Society at RCSI Bahrain organised a cultural event on the occasion of Kuwait’s National Day on February 25.The event included several activities highlighting the Kuwaiti culture, including an photo exhibition, henna station, and the serving of delicious traditional dishes.

Inaugural Health Week at RCSI Bahrain

February 23 to 25, marked the successful launch of the first ever SRC “Health and Fitness Week” in RCSI Bahrain. The aim was to high-light and deliver a simple message; the impor-tance of health and fitness in our daily life’s and as future healthcare professionals. Throughout the 3-day event, a wide range of activities, seminars and sporting events took place with the center theme of the week, focused on raising money for Cardiac Health in conjunction with the Community Engagement Office. The first day of the event was centered around highlighting the extensive diverse range of Clubs and Societies that RCSI Bahrain has to offer and the newly improved Sport and Rec-

reation Centre (SRC) facility. The Health and Wellness club started off the day by providing a healthy alternative cooking workshop. Dr. Declan Gaynor and Student Council President Omar Zuhair Al-Samarrae, officially opened Health Week 2015 to a full house of 32 different Clubs and Societies who went on to raise the roof with support for our Men’s Basketball Team in the first ever RCSI Basketball Championship. Student Council also launched their Mental Health initiative of RCS “I” Appreciate where students reflected and gave thanks for the things in life we sometimes take for granted. Day two saw a host of activities take place around campus. Surpassing our “Climb to Everest” for Cardiac Health challenge target of 26,000 steps in 6 and a half hours, four teams of 4 competing in the SRC Fitness Challenge, a massive turnout of 32 ladies at Zumba, record numbers (20) at Touch Rugby, all rounding off with our Ladies Football Team winning their first game on home turf 4-0 against Bahrain school. The final day of the event brought together all aspects of health and fitness in a fun fair theme with information booths from fitness industry leaders, medical clinics, fun fair style attractions such as a Rodeo Bull, Sumo Suit Wrestling, Soapy Football, a Dunk Tank, games and com-petitions hosted by Student Council and the live final of the SRC Fitness Challenge. The SRC Team would like to thank the Student Council, the Community Engagement Office, Dr. Declan Gaynor (Guest Speaker) and all of

the Departments and entities who volunteered throughout the week. This event would not have been a success without your help. Looking forward to your participation in next year’s Health and Fitness Week.

RCSI Bahrain at Inaugural GAA World Games, Abu Dhabi

On March 7 and 8, history was made in Abu Dhabi as 28 teams from around the world gathered for the inaugural GAA World Games. RCSI was a proud sponsor of two teams in the international tournament: a Middle East-ern international ladies’ team – comprising of non-Irish women who live in the GCC – and an international team, comprising men who are GCC nationals.

RCSI was proud to sponsor these two teams, which best represented the University’s com-mitment to international diversity and the GCC, while still retaining RCSI Bahrain’s roots in Ireland and the GAA.

RCSI Bahrain COO, Stephen Harrison-Mirfield, travelled to Abu Dhabi with his family to watch the games and was delighted with RCSI’s asso-ciation to this historical event. “Being part of

the first-ever GAA world games and sponsoring these two teams is a representation of our pio-neering spirit and commitment to diversity,” he said. “These qualities are what underpin RCSI Bahrain and so it was an absolute pleasure to sponsor the teams.”

The men’s team made it to the International category semi-finals (‘International’ meaning: teams which don’t have Irish nationals) and the women went one better by making it into the International Ladies’ final, where they lost in extra time to a good Canadian team.

However, there was mixed news for RCSI Bahrain in the overall final, as the Middle East 2 team beat Middle East 1. A very disappointed Frank McCarthy- RCSI Bahrain’s Head of Student Rec-reation Services, who played for Middle East 1 said, “To make it all the way to the final and then lose is very hard to take. But I’ll pick myself up and get over it. Being part of history was pretty amazing in itself.”

RCSI Bahrain’s Student Services Manager, Tom Hanratty was also involved, managing the Mid-dle East Ladies 2 team. Unfortunately they were knocked out in the semi-finals but Tom and the team thoroughly enjoyed the event.

RCSI students selected for All-Star team

The Sports & Recreation Centre (SRC) is delighted to announce that women’s basketball captains, Mehrunissa Anis (IC1) and Stephanie Hsu (IC3) have been selected for an All-Star team, which was formed to help the Bahrain women’s national basketball team prepare for the international Gulf tournament last month.

The All-Star team consisted of top-ranked players from every club or university in Bahrain.

Being part of such a select group of athletes exemplifies the dedication of these two RCSI Bahrain student-athletes to their sport. We would like to extend our congratulations to Mehrunissa and Stephanie on this remarkable achievement.

Calories & Carbs

COFFEE! Should we kick our caffeine consumption?

After years of being such a slandered drink, coffee may not always deserve the bad press it gets. New studies reveal that coffee and caffeine may even be beneficial. The Framingham Heart Study amongst others has highlighted the good side of coffee. YAY!

With the addition of a new Gloria Jean’s coffee shop on the RCSI Bahrain campus, it’s easy to take advantage of a caffeine kick, especially during an afternoon slump. But should we feel guilty? No! In moderation, approximately 2-3 cups of coffee per day is not harmful.

In another recent study in Canada, participants who consumed approximately 5mg caffeine per kg of bodyweight, 30-60mins before a workout, showed clear increases in endurance, less fatigue, faster times and quicker recovery.

Caffeine breaks down fat cells into fatty acids and during physical activity, the body uses those fatty acids immediately as fuel, leaving the sugars in the blood as a reserve.

To reap those benefits, however, don’t add sugar to your coffee before a workout. It should be black, filtered coffee. And don’t drink coffee during training – stick to water during training.

As coffee is so popular worldwide, it is worth remembering that its crops are among the most pesticide-laden there are. For this reason, consider using organic coffee blends.

To help stay within the recommended daily caffeine intake, this table lists the caffeine content in the most popular coffees from Gloria Jean’s coffee shop on campus. Enjoy!

GLORIA JEAN’S COFFEE (CAFFEINE CONTENT)

Research Grants Awarded

The Research Committee is pleased to award grants from RCSI Bahrain’s internal research fund. The process this year was highly competitive, with 11 applications encompassing a wide range of topics and modes of research, including many collaborative projects. After an independent review of the applications, six awards were made.

The winning applications featured Dr Tim Doubell’s work which examines sound-evoked muscle reflexes. Professor Robin O’Sullivan received a small grant to support a project examining Hunter-Schreger bands in tooth enamel. Dr Michael Keogh and Dr Khalifa Elmusharaf received funds to work on tissue engineering and adipose-derived stem cells.

Professor Fryad Henari and Dr Seamas Casssidy are collaborating on a project examining the possible use of nanoparticles to measure blood glucose. They are also collaborating with Dr Fiza Rashid-Doubell on another project involving curcumin derivatives and breast cancer.

Finally, Dr Paul O’Farrell and Dr Salim Fredericks are collaborating on a study of inflammatory markers and other factors in sickle cell disease.

The Research Committee would like to congratulate all the recipients and wish them well in their research.

School of Nursing & Midwifery attends Middle Eastern Nurses and Partners in Caring Science Conference

Ms Eman Tawash, Director of Undergraduate Nursing, attended the third annual Middle Eastern Nurses and Partners in Caring Science conference last month in Aqaba, Jordan.

Her presentation to the conference, called “Does culture impact on nursing as a career choice in Bahrain?” was based on some of the findings of her PhD, which is supervised by Professor Seamus Cowman.

The conference ran from February 19-21 and was convened by the distinguished nursing theorist, Dr Jean Watson; sponsored by Watson Caring Science Institute, and held in collaboration with nurses in the Middle East.

The theme of the conference was “Human Caring in a Time of World Crisis: Transcending Culture and Boundaries”. The conference invited international collaboration and the translation of knowledge to Caring Science and Caritas Processes and theory-guided approaches to care for caregivers, patients and families in this time of crises within societies and systems around the world.

Dr Nasaif attends AGU’s Scientific Writing Workshop

Dr. Husain Nasaif represented the School of Nursing & Midwifery at the Workshop on “Scientific Writing: focus on Health Policy, System Research and Health Services Research”, which was held earlier this month at the Arabian Gulf University.

The workshop, which aimed to promote scientific writing, was organised by the Nodal Insatiate for Health Policy & System Research in collaboration with the American University of Beirut. The concept of health policy and its integration in health research was highlighted.

Child-abuse lecture for Year 2 nursing students

As part of Nursing Year 2’s Introduction to Research module, Dr Fadheela Al-Mahroos was invited as a guest speaker to present her research on her 10-year study on Child Abuse in Bahrain.

Her presentation to the nursing students emphasised the value and need for such research in Bahrain.

In an effort to further improve working relationships between University departments, the Professional Development Unit (PDU) organised a one-day Desert Survival event. This team-building activity for two staff groups was designed following the results of training needs analysis – the process of identifying a gap in employee training and related training requirements.

One group included RCSI Bahrain’s senior management team and the other comprised its operations management team.

Mr Stephen Harrison-Mirfield, COO, who attended the first activity, said “While I have been working closely with the team over the last 16 months, it was a different experience to spend the day out in the desert with everyone out of their comfort zone.”

Frank McCarthy, Head of Student Recreation and Services, commented on his experience. “The University’s growth and development hinges on our ability to work and grow effectively as a team. The Desert Survival day out highlighted this in abundance, with teamwork being the essential element for our success and survival. When we left at the end of that day, we were certainly a stronger unit than before.”

Evelyn Anand, Library & Learning Resource Centre Manager, also commented. “We set out unsure, sceptical and conscious of our lack of skill sets to survive. We made it back not as experts but as a team who drew so much from each other throughout the day. I believe competitiveness stepped aside to let togetherness shine out.”

Team-building in the desert