Professor Andrew Murphy, NUI Galway, Dr Austin O'Carroll, Fiona Bradley Award Winner and Professor Tom O'Dowd, Royal College of Surgeons, pictured at the Graduate Entry Medical School, University of Limerick.
UL Hosts Association of University Department of General Practice in Ireland
Friday, 8th March 2013
The Graduate Entry Medical School (GEMS), UL recently hosted the Annual Scientific Meeting of the Association of University Departments of General Practice in Ireland.
The conference explored policy-practice links with a plenary by Professor Catherine O’ Donnell from the University of Glasgow on the complexities of developing and implementing evidence based policy to inform health care practice. A second plenary by the Foundation Head of the Graduate Entry Medical School, Professor Paul Finucane, focused on the role of policy and other factors on the implementation of educational policy for healthcare with an emphasis on the development of the GEMS.
Conference co-organiser and UL’s Professor of Primary Healthcare Research, Anne MacFarlane, said; “This conference brings together researchers from Academic Departments of General Practice in UCC, NUI G, UCD, TCD, RCSI and QUB. Our aim is to showcase current work in relation to clinical issues such as prescribing patterns, diabetes and heart disease as well as broader issues that shape primary care practice such as service user involvement and the use of health technologies.”
The conference was organised by UL’s Professor of General Practice, Walter Cullen and Professor of Primary Healthcare Research, Anne MacFarlane.
Dr Austin O’Carroll, Principal GP, Mountjoy St Medical Practice was the recipient of the Fiona Bradley Award presented at the conference. Austin is renowned as a siren of advocacy for his patients be it at the individual, practice, community or national levels. He has developed major innovations in service delivery most notably the Safetynet Network of Specialised Services for Homeless People which provides primary care services to homeless people in various hostels/homeless services. He has also developed major innovations in education. In 2009, he founded and became the first programme Director of the North Dublin City GP Training Programme. The programme aims to produce general practitioners who are committed to making a difference to the health of patients and communities in areas of deprivation, and hard to reach groups.