The University of Limerick (UL) Graduate Entry Medical School (GEMS) today announced the appointment of Professor Stewart Walsh as Associate Professor of Surgery/Consultant Vascular Surgeon, GEMS and HSE, Mid-Western Hospitals Group. This announcement is among the first of a number of joint appointments between UL’s Graduate Entry Medical School and the HSE. In a coordinating approach to recruitment between the Graduate Entry Medical School, UL and the HSE seeks to maximise the breadth of specialities available and further develop clinical excellence in the region with a view to optimising patient care, medical education and medical research.

Head of the Graduate Entry Medical School, Professor Paul Finucane welcomed the appointment in saying: “The Graduate Entry Medical School is delighted to welcome Professor Walsh to the School.  In his career to date, Prof Walsh has developed an international reputation as an outstanding vascular and general surgeon.  He has a strong interest in teaching at both undergraduate and postgraduate level and is also an established researcher.  He is a marvelous addition to academic team at the University and its affiliated hospitals.”

Following qualification from University College Dublin in 1997, Professor Walsh undertook pre-registration house jobs in Northern Ireland.  He then went on to complete basic surgical training in the north-west of England.  He completed a Master of Science degree at the University of Liverpool in 2002 and was appointed as a specialist registrar on the East of England surgical training rotation.  From 2005 until 2007, he carried out research work at Addenbrooke’s Hospital and the University of Cambridge, leading to a Master of Surgery degree.  He finished training as a vascular and endovascular surgeon in 2010, immediately prior to appointment as Associate Professor. He remained academically active, publishing over 90 peer-reviewed articles, editing a textbook and acting as editor assistant at the British Journal of Surgery, Europe’s leading surgical journal.  

Commenting on the possibilities for furthering the GEMS research agenda, Professor Walsh said: “UL and the Graduate Entry Medical School is a hugely energetic and enthusiastic organisation.  Both faculty and students are notable for their dedication and commitment to both research and education.  The organisation is ideally placed to develop and leading-edge programme in translational clinical research”

The Mid-Western Hospital Group provides acute hospital services in Mid-Western Regional Hospitals; Limerick, Ennis General Hospital, Nenagh General Hospital and St. John’s Hospital, Limerick. UL’s Medical Students will be placed within the Mid-Western Hospital Group as part of their programme of training. These hospitals will benefit from the teaching ethos, medical research and focus on patient care through the interactions of the Graduate Entry Medical Student Programme and the shared Professorial Appointments.

Established in 2007, the University of Limerick, Graduate Entry Medical School is the first graduate entry programme in Ireland and offers a four-year medical degree programme open to graduates from any discipline.  It has a highly innovative curriculum that aims to produce doctors who are well equipped to meet the existing and emerging needs of Irish society. The School will produce its first graduates in June 2011.  Student numbers have expanded from just 32 students in 2007 to almost 300 by 2010.

For further information go to www.ul.ie/medicalschool