RCSI Alumni, 118 Street Stephen's Green, Dublin (2026)

12/09/2026

📢 Introducing the recipient of the 2026 RCSI Ambassador Award: Helen Strapp, School of Nursing and Midwifery (Class of 2007).

🎓️ Helen Strapp completed an MSc in Nursing in 2007 and subsequently achieved a Certificate in Nursing and Midwifery Prescribing in 2011 through RCSI's School of Nursing and Midwifery.

🩹 A highly respected nursing professional, Helen has dedicated her career to improving patient outcomes, advancing wound management practice and supporting the development of future generations of nurses. She is a qualified Registered General Nurse, Registered Sick Children's Nurse, Registered Nurse Prescriber and Registered Advanced Nurse Practitioner. She also holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Wound Healing and Tissue Repair.

🏥 Helen's passion for wound care developed during her time as Ward Manager on a vascular ward at St. Vincent's University Hospital, leading her to specialise in Tissue Viability. Through further postgraduate study and clinical leadership, she progressed from Clinical Nurse Specialist to Registered Advanced Nurse Practitioner in Tissue Viability, becoming a recognised authority in the field.

📊 During an 18-year career at Tallaght University Hospital, Helen led a wide range of initiatives that enhanced patient care and safety. She played a central role in implementing the HSE Pressure Ulcer Prevention initiative across the hospital, contributed to a major programme to upgrade hospital beds to electric models, and established a wound management education programme to strengthen clinical expertise among nurses both within and beyond the organisation. Throughout her career, she has been a passionate advocate for equitable access to high-quality care for all patients.

🤝 Helen's impact extends beyond clinical practice. She is a founding member of the Wound Management Association of Ireland, helping to drive awareness, education and access to specialist wound care nationally. She also serves on the council of the European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel and is a member of the European Wound Management Association, contributing to the advancement of wound care policy and best practice at an international level.

🥼 In 2023, Helen returned to RCSI to join the School of Nursing & Midwifery as a Nurse Tutor, bringing with her decades of clinical expertise and leadership experience. In her current role, she delivers education, supports student development, contributes to research, and helps prepare healthcare professionals to deliver evidence-based patient care. Having completed her own studies at RCSI while working full-time, she brings a unique understanding of the challenges and opportunities faced by today's learners.

🏛️ Helen's enduring relationship with RCSI reflects a lifelong commitment to learning, teaching, and advancing healthcare. From student to researcher, clinical leader and educator, her journey exemplifies the values of professionalism, innovation and service that define the RCSI community.

👏 For 2026, Helen has been recognised with an RCSI Alumni Award in acknowledgement of her exceptional contribution to nursing practice, wound care, patient advocacy and healthcare education.

🏆️ The 2026 RCSI Alumni Awards are kindly supported by FRS Recruitment, an award-winning healthcare recruitment agency that works with healthcare professionals seeking career opportunities in organisations throughout Ireland. Click here to learn more about FRS Recruitment and avail of free career consultation exclusively for RCSI alumni.

07/09/2026

📺️ Alumni might be interested to learn that RCSI was the focus of a recent RTÉ Nationwide programme which went behind the scenes at 123 St Stephen’s Green. where a once-in-a-generation conservation project is underway.

🏛️ Working alongside specialist conservationists and architects, RCSI is carefully protecting the building’s architectural, cultural and educational legacy while ensuring it continues to serve future generations of students, researchers, clinicians and staff.

📜 The episode explores why the work is needed, showcases historic rooms and features undergoing conservation, and uncovers stories that bring the building’s rich history to life.

🫀 Viewers are also taken inside 118 St Stephen’s Green, RCSI’s newest city-centre building, and introduced to Humanarium, our free public health exhibition space. The programme features its inaugural exhibition, Heart: more Than a Beat, highlighting the health advances and patient experiences that helped shape it.

🤝 Together, these two features reflect the breadth of RCSI’s connection to St Stephen’s Green: preserving an important part of Dublin’s built heritage while creating new opportunities for public engagement with health, science, education and research.

▶️ If you missed it you can watch it online at https://www.rte.ie/player/series/nationwide/SI0000001172?epguid=IH10016303-26-0096

#118 StStephensGreen

29/08/2026

📢 Announcing our Outstanding Clinician Awardee: Louise Clarke, School of Physiotherapy, Class of 2004.

🏥 Louise began her career at Beaumont Hospital, where she developed extensive clinical expertise across a broad range of physiotherapy disciplines, establishing the strong foundations that would underpin her future practice.

🌏️ Subsequently, Louise travelled overseas to complete a Master of Science in Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy from the University of Queensland, where she fostered a particular interest in the management of complex musculoskeletal and spinal conditions. During a period living and working in Melbourne in 2012 and 2013, she undertook specialist training in Pilates-based rehabilitation and further expanded her expertise in pregnancy and postnatal care.

🏋️ After returning to Dublin, Louise founded Physio 64 in 2013. The clinic provides exercise-based rehabilitation, drawing on innovative models of care she had encountered in Australia. Under her leadership, the practice has built a reputation for delivering high-quality, evidence-based care focused not only on relieving pain but also on preventing future injury and promoting long-term health outcomes.

🦴 Committed to continuous professional development and advancing standards of care, Louise completed a Diploma in Interprofessional Spine Care through Eurospine during the COVID-19 pandemic. This programme provided opportunities to collaborate with clinicians and researchers from a range of healthcare disciplines and to engage with international best practice in addressing the global challenge of low back pain.

🤰 A further area of clinical interest for Louise is that of women experiencing postnatal musculoskeletal and pelvic health issues. In order to address the significant unmet needs in this area, she pursued advanced training in pelvic floor assessment and became a certified Mummy MOT practitioner. This specialist expertise has enabled her to provide integrated care that addresses both musculoskeletal and pelvic health recovery, supporting women through a critical stage of life and improving long-term health and wellbeing outcomes.

📈 More recently, she contributed as a treating physiotherapist to the LEAP feasibility trial at RCSI, supporting important research initiatives within the School of Physiotherapy and helping to advance evidence-based clinical practice.

👩‍🏫 Alongside her clinical and research contributions, Louise Clarke has demonstrated a longstanding commitment to developing the next generation of physiotherapists through tutoring and mentoring. Her dedication to education, lifelong learning and professional excellence has helped shape future practitioners while ensuring her own practice remains informed by the latest advances in research and patient care.

🏆️ The 2026 RCSI Alumni Awards are kindly supported by FRS Recruitment, an award-winning healthcare recruitment agency that works with healthcare professionals seeking career opportunities in organisations throughout Ireland.

24/08/2026

😀 We're always eager to hear your good news, and at the moment we're on the hunt for updates for our Alumni eNews!

📩 So if you've got something you'd like to share with your fellow alumni get in touch - email [email protected] and we'll include it in our September round up!

22/08/2026

🏆️ Introducing the recipient of the 2026 Research and Innovation Award: Fergal O'Shaughnessy, School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences (Class of 2011).

🎓️ Fergal O'Shaughnessy graduated from RCSI in 2011 after completing a BSc and MPharm in Pharmacy.

🥼 Fergal began his career as a clinical pharmacist in St Vincent's University Hospital, Dublin (SVUH) and alongside his clinical practice in SVUH, he went on to complete an MSc in Hospital Pharmacy at Trinity College Dublin.

🗒️ After this, Fergal undertook a PhD through the Health Research Board SPHeRE Programme based at both the Rotunda Hospital and RCSI. His research focused on improving the prevention of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in pregnancy, generating research to impact on clinical practice and policy.

✈️ Scholarship awards from the Fulbright Commission and RCSI enabled Fergal to undertake research placements at Columbia University Medical Center, New York as well as at the University of Southern Denmark, providing him with the opportunity to learn new skills and extend his research network.

🫄 Since 2019, Fergal has worked in the Irish Medicines in Pregnancy Service (IMPS) at the Rotunda Hospital. He is currently the Medicines Information Lead Pharmacist and in this role he leads national service development, research, and clinical services to improve safe medication use in pregnancy and breastfeeding. Fergal is also heavily involved in VTE research and quality improvement projects within the hospital.

👨‍⚕️ Fergal is passionate about the importance of seeing research translate into real-world impact in clinical practice. He is dedicated to promoting an approach that combines clinical care, research, and service development to improve patient outcomes and care experience - particularly in women’s health and maternity services where gaps in evidence and challenges in care provision persist.

🏛️ Fergal has stayed connected with RCSI throughout his career and was appointed Honorary Clinical Lecturer at the School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, RCSI in 2017 and Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer in 2022.

🏆️ The 2026 RCSI Alumni Awards are kindly supported by FRS Recruitment, an award-winning healthcare recruitment agency that works with healthcare professionals seeking career opportunities in organisations throughout Ireland.

21/08/2026

📸 to our Jubilee Ceremony and celebrations for alumni marking 50, 60 and 70 years since their graduation from RCSI!⁠
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📩 We'll be sharing more photos in this weekend's Alumni Snapshot - check your inbox tomorrow!⁠
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18/08/2026

🤗 The feeling when you see your RCSI classmates at your 30th, 40th or 50th class reunion!

💚 Looking forward to sharing more moments from our Alumni Gathering over the coming weeks!

15/08/2026

🏆️ We are delighted to introduce our 2026 Humanitarian and Community Awardee: Dr Reem Ghazi Al-Fulaij, Graduate School of Healthcare Management (Class of 2010).

🎓️ Dr Reem Ghazi Al-Fulaij completed an MSc in Healthcare Management with RCSI in 2010. Having trained and specialised in haematology, she developed an early interest in a question that would come to shape her career: how can healthcare systems, public policy and effective governance improve not only individual patient outcomes, but the wellbeing of society as a whole?

🥼 Since completing her MSc with RCSI, Dr Reem’s career has evolved from clinical medicine into public-sector leadership, with each role bringing greater responsibility and a broader opportunity to serve. She held several leadership positions within Kuwait’s Ministry of Health, including Director of the Planning Department, before playing a pivotal role in the establishment of Kuwait’s Public Authority for Food and Nutrition (PAFN). She subsequently became Deputy Director General for Technical Affairs, where she combined her clinical background with a strong commitment to evidence-based policymaking, prevention and public health.

📋️ In January 2023, Dr Reem was appointed Chairperson of the Board and Director General of PAFN, marking a significant milestone in her leadership journey. In this role, she led the Authority at the national level, advancing institutional development, strengthening governance and translating scientific evidence into policies designed to protect public health and improve quality of life. Her work included a range of national initiatives, among them the introduction of nutritional standards for school meals across Kuwait.

✅️ Her journey of public service reached another historic milestone on 1 February 2026, when Dr Reem was appointed Kuwait’s first Minister of State for Development and Sustainability. The appointment represented both a recognition of her years of public service and the beginning of an ambitious new chapter. Tasked with establishing a new ministry, she is responsible for shaping its vision, organisational structure and strategic direction, while overseeing national sustainability initiatives and institutional reforms.

🌱 In her ministerial role, Dr Reem works across some of the most important issues affecting Kuwait’s future — including sustainability, climate and environmental governance, food security and the responsible management of national resources. Her focus is on building institutions and policies that respond to today’s challenges while safeguarding opportunities and resources for future generations, ensuring that Kuwait’s sustainability agenda is ambitious, practical and aligned with global best practice.

👪️ Behind the public roles and professional milestones is a deep commitment to family. A mother of four and grandmother to her one-year-old grandson, Dr Reem values every opportunity to spend time with her family. She also enjoys travelling, discovering new cultures and reading — interests that reflect the curiosity and openness to learning that have accompanied her throughout her career.

🤝 Dr Reem believes that leadership is ultimately a form of service. Her journey — from medicine and healthcare management to leading a national authority and, ultimately, serving in government — reflects her belief in remaining curious, embracing lifelong learning and approaching every responsibility with dedication and integrity. For her, meaningful leadership is measured not simply by the positions one holds, but by the positive and lasting difference one can make in the lives of others and in the future of society.

🏆️ The 2026 RCSI Alumni Awards are kindly supported by FRS Recruitment, an award-winning healthcare recruitment agency that works with healthcare professionals seeking career opportunities in organisations throughout Ireland.

15/08/2026

⌛️ Time flies when you're having fun, and suddenly we seem to have reached the final day of our 2026 Alumni Gathering! It's been three days of great excitement here on campus, but happily there are still things to forward to today before this year's event draws to a close.⁠
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😊 Some of our bright-eyed alumni will be taking part in the Poolbeg ParkRun this morning, and the Alumni Team will be on hand at the Registration Desk in the lobby of 123 St Stephen's Green until 2pm for any queries.⁠
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💃 The final element of the reunion programme will take place this evening - red carpet photos and the Gala Dinner at the Mansion House, with plenty of opportunities for dancing and further merriment to follow! Make sure to keep an eye on our Stories where we'll be sharing clips later this evening.⁠
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14/08/2026

😊 After all the excitement of last night's Welcome Reception we're back in RCSI with a packed programme for DAY 2 of the 2026 Alumni Gathering!⁠
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🗣️ Today attendees can look forward to a key element of the Alumni Gathering - the Scientific Meeting, when alumni speakers will present on a wide variety of topics, from advances in stroke care, to medical creativity and inventorship, spine care, to rebuilding chronic pain care, and rehab and robots.⁠
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🏛️ There are also number of tours and activities taking place on campus - attending alumni will get the chance to tour our newest campus building, 118 St Stephen's Green, and attend an Open House in the SIM Centre.⁠
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👉️ For anyone who has not yet registered, our Registration Desk is open until 17:00 today in the lobby of the York Street entrance to 123 St Stephen's Green, next to the Porters' Desk.⁠
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👀 Keep an eye on our Stories for a sneak peek at what's happening throughout the day!⁠
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RCSI Alumni

12/09/2026

07/09/2026

29/08/2026

24/08/2026

22/08/2026

21/08/2026

18/08/2026

15/08/2026

15/08/2026

14/08/2026

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