89 future doctors graduated from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland - Medical University of Bahrain (RCSI Bahrain) yesterday following the seventh annual Conferring Ceremony, held under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bahrain.
His Highness Sheikh Ali Bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, Deputy Prime Minister, attended the event on behalf of His Royal Highness Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, alongside RCSI Bahrain staff, stakeholders, special guests, dignitaries, government officials, students families and senior representatives of RCSI in Dublin.
On the occasion of the ceremony, His Highness Shaikh Ali congratulated the graduates and their families on their momentous achievements and confirmed that healthcare is an important sector for the Bahraini government, in terms of increasing the standards of living and levels of investment.
He added that His Royal Highness the Prime Minister is committed to supporting efforts to develop the healthcare sector, including building new hospitals and health centres, advancing healthcare services and attracting the best international medical institutions and faculty, as part of the overall vision of the Kingdom of Bahrain.
Shaikh Ali went on to praise RCSI for its contribution to the healthcare sector in Bahrain through its academic expertise and the development of Bahraini nursing and medical graduates of the highest calibre, which will reflect positively on the quality of healthcare services in the Kingdom.
In accepting their awards from RCSI President, Mr Declan Magee, and RCSI Bahrain President, Professor Sameer Otoom, yesterdays graduates received degrees from RCSI Bahrain and the National University of Ireland (NUI), as well as licentiates from the Royal college of Physicians in Ireland (RCPI) and RCSI.
In his address, Mr Magee congratulated the graduates on their achievements and praised the ongoing relationship between RCSI and the Kingdom of Bahrain.
Professor Otoom also took the opportunity to congratulate the graduates and extended his gratitude to the friends and family members who had supported them in their achievements, while NUI Registrar, Dr Attracta Halpin, also paid tribute.
The Conferring Ceremony also provided an opportunity to recognise students for exceptional performances throughout their undergraduate training and yesterday proved to be a momentous occasion for Maryam Fareed Ashoor, who won the three main specialist prizes on offer.
The 24-year-old Bahraini received the James Finucane Prize in Medicine, the John Murphy Prize in Obstetrics and Gynaecology and the Niall OHiggins Prize in Surgery, marking the first occasion that all three prizes have been won by the same student.
Dr Ashoor also presented the 2016 Valedictorian address.
The Clinical Lecturer Award for Medicine, as voted by the graduating class, was presented to Dr Dalal Alromaihi, Consultant Endocrinologist at King Hamad University Hospital.
Yesterdays ceremony brought to more than 1,100, the number of RCSI Bahrain graduates since the inaugural Conferring ceremony back in 2010.
RCSI Bahrain is a constituent university of RSCI, which was established in 1784. Like its Irish counterpart, RCSI Bahrain is a not-for-profit health sciences institution focused on education and research to drive positive change in all areas of human health worldwide.