Dear Colleagues,

We hope you are taking advantage of the sunnier Spring weather and the novelty of extending your walking or running route past the confines of our recent 5k limit. We would like to firstly congratulate the IT ‘Christopher Walkin Team’ who are the first Dublin team to make it to our Bahrain campus in the Steps to Health Challenge, completing a fantastic 6978km in the last 2 months. 198 staff from Dublin and 62 of our colleagues from Bahrain have been involved with the challenge showing how much we can connect with each other even when we are miles apart.

If you would like to increase your steps and physical health, the RCSI Gym team are running the #RCSItogether 10k for the second year on 26 June. Whether you’re a complete novice or a seasoned runner the RCSI Gym Team have a progamme to suit your needs and ability. Participants will receive a 12 week training plan, ongoing support as well as workshops in strength, mobility and nutrition. Plans are available for both runners and walkers this year, so all are welcome, and medals will be presented to all participants. You can sign up through this link https://forms.office.com/r/eF0vj5Hsms.

Thank you to those who shared their positive feedback from Wednesday’s Townhall meeting. All the speakers were superb and Dr. Fidelma Fitzpatrick’s presentation on our journey with Covid-19 shows just how far we have come in understanding the virus and working together to overcome it. If you missed the meeting you can watch it back here.

This year the focus for NWWD is on social, mental and physical wellbeing.  To mark the day, the Inspire team have been busy organising a programme of activities with the help of the RCSI Gym team and Dr. Pádraic Dunne from our Centre for Positive Psychology and Health. We want to empower staff to take time out for themselves on this day and to connect with colleagues within their own teams and from across the College. Some of us have ‘wellbeing fatigue’ and the thought of another meditation session, virtual meeting or online yoga class fill us with dread! If this is the case why not take time out to go for a walk in nature or just sit for a few minutes with a coffee and a book. (Much easier and less stressful!).

To book into any of the activities below follow this link and don’t forgot to post pictures of how you are celebrating National Workplace Wellbeing Day with #WorkWell21 on WorkVivo J

A special thanks to Brid Mahon and Yvette Moffatt our amazing RCSI Inspire Team for their drive, passion, innovation and creativity – we are blessed to have them at RCSI!

The Physician Associate Programme team welcomed our 6^th cohort of 15 students in January 2021. Due to COVID, we had an overlap in student cohorts, since our final year students were delayed in completing the programme. Nonetheless, the faculty and staff worked hard to ensure they graduated in time to take the Irish Physician Associate National Exam, sponsored by the Irish Society of Physician Associates.

We are a relatively “young” team, consisting of the following individuals:

Lisa Alexander, an experienced PA educator from Washington, DC, joined the team in September 2020.

Pauline Joyce, longstanding RCSI faculty member who has been with the programme since its inception.

Sean Robinson, our newest faculty member, who started in February 2021.

Laura Kenna, our highly capable administrative coordinator, who celebrated her 1 year anniversary in February 2021.

The team is primarily located in Dublin, Fairview, and Harolds Cross, however we even integrated our newest faculty member to the team for two months from Springfield, Virginia!

The two critical items that the team has focused on include:

• Promoting the PA Profession in Ireland: Since the profession is relatively new in Ireland, many of our activities focus on outreach to develop new partnerships with various external stakeholders. To facilitate this goal, faculty titles and roles have had to adjust to properly focus and ensure success in achieving this critical goal.
• Educational Innovation: As other programmes have similarly demonstrated, educational content and delivery has had to adapt to a hybrid format. Our students matriculate in January of each year which coincided with the beginning of the COVID 3^rd wave. We limited on-campus classes to skill based and small group activities with mask wearing and social distancing. By doing so, we have been able to keep our students and team members safe.

During this time, our priorities have changed, especially as it relates to caring for student welfare. More frequent check-ins, and even individual meetings with students online, have helped faculty to maintain contact with students, irrespective of student and faculty locations.

Excellence in academic content for clinical year students required faculty to develop alternative learning experiences during the time when clinical training was paused. These online assignments ensured the students would be even more prepared for clinical responsibilities when they re-started in mid-March.  

Team practice has adapted by using online tools such as One Drive, to facilitate group work.  In addition, we make an earnest attempt at limiting the length and number of Teams meetings. These weekly meetings promote shared decision making and consensus building. We have established a team WhatsApp group, where we share social stories, photos, etc. to replicate “inter-office” social communication that helps to strengthen our appreciation for one another.  Finally, we occasionally post cards to one another to mark special holidays and celebrations! 

Our staff share many critical characteristics that help to define a highly effective team, including our ability to laugh, be flexible, and take creative risks in this uncertain environment. We share an openness with one another that promotes trust in all that we do. During our relatively short time working together, we’ve learned to collaborate on decisions and plans, while keeping our students and the academic excellence of our programme, as our dual focus.

In closing, we have realised that any office is just a space with 4 walls. The real working environment is the people we connect with and trust day-to-day, and this helps us to be more self-motivated to get on with the tasks at hand.

Today I can

Today I can complain about my health,
Or I can celebrate being alive.

Today I can moan that it is raining,
Or be joyful at all that grows from the rain.

Today I can regret all I don't have,
Or rejoice in everything I do.

Today I can mourn everything I have lost,
Or eagerly anticipate what's to come.

Today I can complain that I have to work,
Or celebrate having a job to go to.

Today I can resent the mess the kids make,
Or give thanks that I have a family.

Today I can whine about the housework,
Or celebrate having a home.

Today I can cry over the people who
don't care for me,
Or be happy loving and being loved
by those who do.

I choose to have a good day today!

-Author Unknown