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Coláiste Ríoga na Máinleá in Éirinn[2] | |
_-_geograph.org.uk_-_715737.jpg) | |
| Motto | Consilio Manuque (Scholarship and Dexterity) |
|---|---|
| Type | Not-for-profit |
| Established | 11 February 1784 |
| President | Professor Deborah McNamara |
| Vice-Chancellor | Professor Cathal Kelly[3] |
| Students | 4,094[4] (as of 2020) |
| Address | ,, D02 YN77 ,53°20′21″N6°15′45″W / 53.33918°N 6.26257°W /53.33918; -6.26257 |
| Campus | Urban |
| Language | English |
| Affiliations | NUI |
| Website | rcsi |
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  Location in Central Dublin | |
TheRoyal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) is a not-for-profit medical professional and educational institution, which is also known asRCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences. It was established in 1784 as the national body for the surgical branch of medicine in Ireland, with a role in supervision of training, and as of 2021 provides a broad range of medical education in multiple countries.[5]
RCSI's main campus is situated onSt. Stephen's Green and York Street in centralDublin and incorporates schools ofmedicine,pharmacy and biomolecular sciences,physiotherapy,population health,dentistry andnursing and midwifery. It offers undergraduate and postgraduate education in a number of healthcare fields.[5]
RCSI is ranked fifth in the world for SDG3 Good Health and Well-being in THE Impact Rankings 2024.[6] The THE University Impact Rankings recognise universities around the world for their social and economic impact based on the United Nations' 17Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Since medieval times, the practice of surgery in Dublin was licensed by one of theGuilds of the City of Dublin, theBarber-Surgeons'Guild, also known at times asthe Guild of St.Mary Magdalene. The guild chapel was inChristchurch. Guild membership was obtained by a 3-yearapprenticeship, followed by 2 years as a journeyman. In fact the College of Surgeons maintained a mandatory period of apprenticeship to become a qualified surgeon until 1828.[citation needed]
In 1446, the Barber-Surgeons' guild wasincorporated by a royal decree ofHenry VI, becoming the first medicalcorporation in Britain or Ireland.
In 1765Sylvester O'Halloran, a surgeon fromLimerick, proposed a College of Surgeons along the lines of the College de St. Cosme in Paris, which had been regulating French surgeons since it had been created by Royal Charter byLouis IX in 1255, to train and regulate surgeons.[7] The Dublin Society of Surgeons was founded in 1780 at the Elephant public house on Essex Street (now Parliament Street).
Trinity did not teach surgery as a subject until 1851, so Ireland was entirely without a school focused on surgery. To have a separate organization focused on providing standardised surgical education became one of the goals of the society and they lobbied for a Royal Charter, in 1781 presenting theLord Lieutenant a petition to be incorporated separately from thebarbers. The awaitedcharter was granted byKing George III on 11 February 1784. The governing body, including the first President, Samuel Croker-King, and William Dease, first professor of surgery, met in the boardroom of theRotunda Hospital for the first time on 2 March.
Admission or employment was not subject to discrimination on sectarian grounds. Two of the RCSI's leading founders, Sylvester O'Halloran and William Dease, as well as 11 of its first 57 presidents, were Catholics. The college also recognized the medical qualifications given by theCatholic University from 1856, which gave legitimacy to their diplomas.
The first candidate for examination was John Birch, in August 1784.
The RCSI's first location, at the corner of York Street, was acquired in September 1805, with additional land at Glover's Alley bought in 1809. The site was previously an abandonedQuakerburial ground. The Duke of Bedford laid the first stone of the new building on St. Patrick's Day, 1806 and building reached completion in March 1810. As of 2021, this remains the primary location of the institution.
A supplemental charter was granted byQueen Victoria in 1844, dividing medical graduates intoLicentiates and Fellows. Initially, physicians were trained alongside surgeons. In 1886 these two disciplines were merged, and the medical school began operation. As a result of this historical legacy, graduates of medicine still receive Licentiate diplomas from the two Royal Colleges as well as now being awarded MB (Bachelor of Medicine) BCh (Bachelor of Surgery) and BAO (Bachelor of the Art of Obstetrics) degrees by theNational University of Ireland.
Now defunct subjects formerly taught include: Logic (1852–1862), Military Surgery (1851–1860) andbotany (1792–1889).
In 1885, the RCSI became the first medical school in Ireland to admit women to its classes.[8] The first woman to qualify as a fellow of the RCSI wasEmily Winifred Dickson in 1893 and the secondMary Strangman in 1902.[9]
During the1916 Rising, the main college building onSt Stephen's Green was occupied byIrish Citizen Army forces, led by CommandantMichael Mallin andCountess Markievicz. After surrendering, both were tried and sentenced to death. Mallin was executed while Markievicz's sentence was commuted due to her gender.
The subject Hygiene or Political Medicine (1841–1921) was retired, and its Chair united with Medical Jurisprudence.
The RCSI became the firstmedical institution of learning to offer a4-year graduate entry programme for medicine in Ireland.[10]
Ethna Gaffney became the first female professor at RCSI in 1967.[11]
During the period 2014 – 2018, RCSI-affiliated researchers collaborated with over 2,100 international academic and industry institutions producing over 2,900 co-authored publications. The university's field-weighted citation impact is twice the world average and scores in the top decile internationally in theTimes Higher Education World University Ranking (2020).[5]
In December 2019, the RCSI was authorised as a university, becoming the ninth in Ireland, following a change in legislation, and an application by the college. The long-sought change in status was complicated by the RCSI's status as a private body but eventually a standard process was created and the college met the conditions set out in it, and following ministerial approval, the change was endorsed by votes in both houses of theOireachtas.[1] This also made it the eleventh university on the island of Ireland, includingThe Queen's University of Belfast andUlster University.
Since the 1980sBeaumont Hospital, Dublin has been the principal centre for medical training. Other affiliated hospitals include teaching hospitals such asConnolly Hospital,Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital,St. Joseph's Hospital, Dublin and University Hospital Waterford.
The institution has a structure ofFaculties andSchools, some parts of which focus more on undergraduate studies, some more on post-graduate and continuing professional education.[12]
The lead faculty is the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, with Schools as follows:
and two other units:
The other faculties are:
Education is delivered using a structure of departments working across faculties and schools.[12]
RCSI is home to numerous healthcare research collaborations and centres. The university's research is focused on improving human health through "translational" research: clinical, laboratory-based and health service research informed by societal and global health challenges, and on improved diagnostics, therapeutics and devices; healthcare delivery issues; policy and clinical practice and enhancement of the quality of education of healthcare professionals.
Strategic research themes include:
RCSI is a culturally diverse, international organisation with alumni presence in almost every country in the world. More than 3,800 students representing 60 nations are typically enrolled in its Medicine (1,800), Pharmacy (200) and Physiotherapy (100) programmes. RCSI's Medicine programme allocates 25% of places for EU applicants and 75% for non-EU applicants. RCSI claims to have educated more than 32,000 alumni.[13]
It states that it values innovation, excellence, independence, academic freedom, diversity, tolerance and community and that it champions a patient-centric approach to its activities and endeavours. RCSI is the largest Irish medical school.[14]
The Students' Union (SU) is an annually elected body, consisting of 8 officers. The SU is the institution's bridge between faculty and the student body and is invited to most meetings, ensuring that student voices are heard on a variety of topics. The SU works closely with the Student Council, which consists of class representatives from all classes at RCSI.
Students at RCSI are encouraged to participate in extracurricular activities that promote service in the community and cultural awareness. 80% of the student population is from outside theEuropean Union, with a significant portion coming from North America, the Middle East and Asia.[15] The Biological Society (BioSoc) is the official student society of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) and claims to be the oldest student medical society in the world.[citation needed] The RCSI International Night and the Chocolate Ball (amongst many others) are their main annual events.
RCSI has a sports ground in Dardistown in Dublin's northern suburbs.[16]
| Global rankings | |
|---|---|
| ARWU (2024)[17] | 901−1000 |
| THE (2025)[18] | 251−300 |
The RCSI is active in medically related sectors of education in multiple locations. During the South AfricanApartheid, for example, the RCSI provided medical education to those that were discriminated against.[19] More than 95 countries from each continent are represented in the RCSI student body.[20]
InMalaysia,RCSI & UCD Malaysia Campus, became the RCSI's "launching pad" inSouth-East Asia. Established in 1995, medical students may choose to complete their pre-clinical studies at either UCD or RCSI in Dublin, before continuing the clinical aspect of their degree in Penang. Also inMalaysia,Perdana University Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (PU-RCSI) was established in 2011, aiming to host up to 100 students per year on its 5-year undergraduate medical programme, the first cohort to graduate in 2016.[citation needed]
RCSI-Bahrain is a fully-owned constituent university of the RCSI. The first cohort of medical students commenced studies in October 2004 followed by the first cohort of nursing students commencing in September 2006.[citation needed] Programmes offered include a 5-year Bachelor of Medicine (MB, BCh, BAO) programme, a 4-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing programme and a 2-year research based Master of Science in Nursing programme.[21][22][23] Since 2009, students can also obtain the degrees conferred upon RCSI graduates from theNational University of Ireland.[citation needed]
In 2005, "RCSIDubai" was founded and currently offers amaster's programme in Healthcare Management. In 2007, the RCSI, in conjunction with Valentia Technologies, theDublin Fire Brigade (DFB), and Ireland's Pre Hospital Emergency Care Council (PHECC), launched a unique training initiative with the Emergency Medical Services Dubai Training Institute. The aim is to better patient care and improve response times within Dubai's emergency ambulance services.[24]
For students at the home institution of the RCSI, options may be taken abroad as a result of collaborative agreements with other medical schools around the world. In 2007, these medical schools includedColumbia University,University of Pennsylvania, andTufts University. There are also informal agreements with other institutions such as theJohns Hopkins University andMayo Clinic.[citation needed]
The RCSImotto, "Consilio Manuque", was adopted from that of theCollege de St. Cosme in Paris, which had been afforded the motto byLouis XIV. It was originally "Consiloque Manuque", his personal motto.
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The RCSI was granted independent degree-awarding status by theIrish government in 2010, which also allowed the then college, now university, to awardhonorary degrees. Among others, the following individuals have received honorary doctorates from the RCSI.
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The Royal College of Surgeons Ireland (RCSI) has been formally authorised to use the title of "university" for the first time in 235 years. ... It follows an amendment to the Qualifications and Quality Assurance (Education and Training) (Amendment) Act 2019, which provides a new legislative route for private education providers to apply for university designation. ... It now becomes the ninth university in the State
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