RCSItogether Bulletin 15 – Compassionate Leadership, Entrepreneurship, Being an Ally and Next Steps/Feedback Sought
Dear Colleagues
This week marks 12 weeks since we had to close our doors in March, 3 months unlike any we have previously experienced. Happily we now have some colleagues, in particular our research colleagues, back on campus and we look forward to welcoming more of you back in the weeks and months ahead. Please do join our upcoming townhall on Wednesday June 17th for further details on campus reopening plans.
#RCSItogether – Learning
Last week several of you joined a webinar held by the Irish Universities Association on Leadership and Motivation for academic/research leaders. It was a really interesting session tailored to the unique challenges of leadership in academia at this time, if you missed it you can watch a recording here.
Our colleagues in Surgical Affairs have developed two new online courses in response to the pandemic in collaboration with the National Healthcare Communciation Programme (NHCP) to support clinicians with telephone and video consultations. Both courses focus on the effective communication skills required to lead to the best results for both clinician and patients and are freely available here for anyone who’s interested. Well done to Prof Sean Tierney, Prof Peter Gillen, Dr. Eva Doherty, Donncha Ryan and Conor Dunphy for their work on this very practical resource.
Last week’s Leadership Lecture hosted by the IOL with Prof Michael West is highly recommended for anyone who couldn’t join the live webinar. Prof West focused on the need for compassionate leadership both now and in the future. It’s a terrific session with lessons for all of us, particularly in relation to self-compassion which is something we sometimes forget about. Prof West reminded us of the importance of:
- Attending – Paying attention to myself
- Understanding – Understanding the challenges we face
- Empathising – Caring for Ourselves
- Helping – Taking intelligent action to help ourselves
#RCSItogether – Health Science
It is with great pleasure that we can share that one of our 3rd year medicine students, Siobhan Ryan, has been selected as a finalist in the prestigious EI Entrepreneur Awards. Siobhan is shortlisted for ‘PressiDect’ which is a peri-operative pressure detection system used on the surface of an operating theatre table. It contains tactile pressure sensors that have the ability to actively map a patient’s position during their surgical procedure; measuring pressure changes in real time to help avoid pressure injuries. The prevention of hospital acquired pressure injuries (HAPIs) remains a fundamental concern especially in vulnerable patient populations. PressiDect is an adaptable system to an array of healthcare departments which can havea more favourable impact on patient care and outcomes related to pressure injury prevention. You can read more here. Thanks so much to the Innovation Team, in particular Derek John, Technology Transfer Case Manager for the tremendous support and expertise provided to Siobhan.
Staff and students are invited to virtually attend the final of the Student Entrepreneur Awards 2020 which will take place on Friday, 12th June at 12noon. Click on the following link to view the live event: https://vimeo.com/423979886/bfa42b4598.
#RCSItogether – Minding Others
No doubt you will have watched events unfolding in the US over the last week. RCSI is committed to equal treatment of all regardless of race, and we stand with our global community in condemning racism and discrimination in all forms.
This week, we want you to think about minding others in terms of being a good ally. As this Guide to Allyship explains, “anyone has the potential be an ally. Allies recognise that though they are not a member of the oppressed group(s) they support, they make a concerted effort to better understand the struggle, every single day. Because an ally might have more privilege (and recognises said privilege), they are powerful voices alongside oppressed ones”.
Here are some do’s and don’ts that are incredibly important as you learn, grow, and step into the role of an ally.
#RCSItogether – Minding Yourself
The Psychological Society of Ireland (PSI) have recently launched their new 2020 podcast series, which highlights the important role psychology plays in our daily lives. The podcast series, which has been produced to mark the 50th anniversary of the Society, promotes the discipline of psychology, with each episode featuring professionals who have a wealth of experience in their chosen area. While applicable to everyday life, the topics discussed are also particularly relevant during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Coping with Lockdown
- Managing Suicidal Behaviour in Young People
- What is Mindfulness?
- Anxiety in Children
- Social Media and Children
- Emotional Intelligence and Stress
- Problems with the Weight Loss Industry
The first three podcasts in the series have been released with new editions on a Thursday for the next four weeks with contributions from a range of psychologists including our own Prof Eva Doherty. Listen to the podcast series on all main audio platforms, or click here to listen via the PSI website.
As we prepare for the likely extension of travel restrictions from 5kms to 20kms, it will be useful to know where exactly you can travel to and from. Click here to find out, at a click of a button, what areas are within the new boundaries. This helpful site also enables you to drop a pin of where some of your family or friends may live and plot out where your boundaries may overlap so you can meet each other, in line with public health guidelines.
We hope many of you are intending to plan some annual leave to rest and recuperate. Discover Ireland and Failte Ireland have information of what events, activities and attractions may still be accessible during this time. Additionally, there was recently an interesting article in the Irish Times, 50 things to do in Ireland this summer which may spark are few ideas. As we often hear of other interesting events happening in our locality, we would encourage you to share anything you feel may be of interest to your colleagues on WorkVivo. All we need now is the sunny weather to return!
Finally, we are very grateful to everybody who has been in touch over the last few months to comment on the bulletin, your feedback and encouragement has been much appreciated. We hope it has been a source of support, positivity and inspiration at an uncertain time. Now that restrictions are beginning to ease and we have a return to campus on the horizon we would love to hear from you on what supports would be most useful to you during this next phase – a shift of emphasis, a less frequent bulletin or something else entirely? You can share your thoughts and suggestions here.
Take care of yourselves and each other,
Barry and the HR Team