A healthy step forward
In a major announcement, MU will develop a new School of Health and Medicine, with a suite of new courses in the making
By Peter McGuire
Throughout Ireland and across the world, the shortage of healthcare professionals is acute, to say the least. The population is growing, and aging. Countries are competing for talent, while trying to plan for both known-and unknown-complexities in the medical needs of their changing populations.
In Ireland alone, the Health Service Executive (HSE) forecasts a potential shortfall of up to 15,000 staff in acute hospitals and 2,000 general practitioners over the next crucial decade.
At the same time, digital technologies are transforming diagnosis, treatment and preventative health.
Higher education institutions have a critical role to play in addressing these labour shortages, and tapping into the promise of digital health technologies to make health care delivery safer and more efficient.
Maynooth University has put itself forward to play a part in responding to these challenges. In launching its new Strategic Plan 2023-28 last year, MU declared it will establish Ireland’s newest School of Health and Medicine, offering a range of courses designed to meet the healthcare needs of the future.
With an innovative curriculum and progressive delivery methods, the new School will have a strong focus on community and digital health, with interprofessional learning at its core.
The approach deliberately aligns will Sláintecare, Ireland’s national healthcare initiative, which, over the next 10 years, will move the country towards a decentralised and community-based care model, with a focus on preventive healthcare.
Already, the new Department of Sport Science and Nutrition has launched its first course and more programmes are on the way. A new nursing programme is projected to begin in the next few years, followed by new degrees in health and medicine.
This is an important moment for the Irish healthcare sector and for Maynooth University. The new School of Health and Medicine allows us to leverage our research expertise in the sciences, digital health and public policy to help address national and global shortages across the healthcare workforce.
Professor Leinonen said.
As a newcomer, the University is seizing its opportunity for radical innovation in research and teaching, including a plan to reserve 50% of nursing spaces for students from further education and training (FET) backgrounds (see panel) and innovative models for clinical placement in its region.
“We have always made a significant contribution in healthcare. Through the work of the Kathleen Lonsdale Institute for Human Health Research, the Innovation Value Institute (IVI), which carries out research on digital transformation, the Assisted Living and Learning (ALL) Institute, highly ranked psychology courses, and our life sciences departments, we already carry out world-class research into immunology, obesity, elder care, digital health and more. Dr Andy Hogan, for instance, has led on the issue of obesity nationally.
These are all core pillars in health, and the new programmes will further bridge a number of disciplines in a way that both expands choice for students across the country but also aligns with the preventative approach to health that Sláintecare promotes,” Professor Farrell says.
Last year, the IVI led the third Digital Health Symposium in New York, as part of the 78th United Nations General Assembly. The event was chaired by IVI co-founder Professor Martin Curley, and brought together leading clinicians, executives, academics and patient innovators from across the healthcare sector to discuss radical digital improvements and how they can transform healthcare outcomes.
In launching its new Strategic Plan 2023-28 last year, MU declared it will establish Ireland’s newest School of Health and Medicine, offering a range of courses designed to meet the healthcare needs of the future.
Speaking at the opening of the symposium, Professor Eeva Leinonen, President of Maynooth University, acknowledged the challenges facing health systems globally, while also emphasising the pivotal role universities play in reinvigorating and sustaining our healthcare workforce, ensuring its resilience.
Establishing a School of Health and Medicine to meet significant technological and demographic changes is a bold step forward for Maynooth -- and no simple task -- but Professor Leinonen brings a wealth of experience to the challenge, with leadership spanning multiple countries and continents.
At the University of Hertfordshire in the UK, she held the roles of Dean of Health and Sciences and Deputy Vice Chancellor, where she was responsible for the university’s health portfolio, including a large research centre focused on primary and community care. At King’s College London, she worked closely with the largest medical school in Europe.
In addition, MU Vice President for Research and Innovation, Professor Rachel Msetfi, was previously Executive Dean of the Faculty of Education and Health at the University of Limerick.
A founding head of the School of Nursing will start soon. “This is an important moment for the Irish healthcare sector and for Maynooth University. The new School of Health and Medicine allows us to leverage our research expertise in the sciences, digital health and public policy to help address national and global shortages across the healthcare workforce,” Professor Leinonen said.
“It positions Maynooth University at the forefront of the rapidly evolving area of health education, enhancing our reputation for innovation and inclusion and helping us to attract students from across the globe.”
Integrating new technologies, such as artificial intelligence and data collection and analysis, will be a key goal as the acceleration of digital healthcare transforms outcomes for patients. Already, the innovative national Masters in Digital Health Transformation, which is co-designed and co-delivered across Ireland’s eight universities (including MU), is focused on innovations such as artificial intelligence and e-health.
This forward-thinking approach is driving transformational change at the University, aligning with a broader movement in global healthcare that prioritises wellbeing and illness prevention.
Dr Jack Hickey, Assistant Professor in Sport Science, heads up the new Department of Sport Science and Nutrition.
“There is a growing understanding that exercise and nutrition have health benefits beyond fitness and performance,” he says.
“There is an appetite for exercise professionals to deliver interventions to healthy people, people with chronic illness and those with injuries.”
The first course in this new department was launched in collaboration with the School of Business, where the BSc in Business with Sports Science helps students gain knowledge and skills in sports exercise and sports science.
Starting in the academic year 2024-25, the new BSc in Sport Science and Health and a BSc in Food Science and Nutrition will see their first ever student intakes. Figures from the Central Applications Office already show strong demand for the new degrees ahead of their start dates.
“As we grow, we will engage with other universities on research, as well as with the established sports programmes in the University and the local community. There are exciting opportunities to work with the campus sports office on athlete testing and injury prevention screening, as well as around the county and country with amateur and professional sports.”
As a start, in March, MU agreed a programme of collaboration with Meath GAA to enhance sports performance through the provision of sport science and sport medicine consultancy, as well as academic opportunities for students.
“There is great enthusiasm across the medical and healthcare community for the new approach Maynooth is taking”, says Farrell.
“There are so many opportunities. Student mobility from other countries and continents, partnerships and joint projects align with the University’s mission of improved access to higher education, and especially to professions like medicine. It is a very exciting time at Maynooth University, both in terms of the evolution of our academic programmes, but also in terms of helping Ireland meet the healthcare challenges we face today.”
Kasia McGaw, BSc Biological and Biomedical Sciences
MU widens access to the health professions
Entry requirements for nursing programmes and, in particular, the relatively high CAO points requirement, have often excluded students from more disadvantaged backgrounds, as well as those whose personal skills and attributes would make them an asset to the profession.
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MU alum creating new tools to exploit the role of sugars in infertility
Since joining the staff of the MU Department of Chemistry in 2020, Dr Róisín O’Flaherty has been leading a research group seeking to unlock the hidden potential of sugars in our bodies. Sugars attached to proteins and immune cells in our bodies can be used as diagnostic tools, and provide functional information to help us better understand everything from cancer to infertility to the health benefits of breast feeding.
Dr O’Flaherty, as Principal Investigator in the Kathleen Lonsdale Institute for Human Health Research, leads the O’Flaherty Glycoscience group (four PhD students, one post-doctoral researcher). A proud first-generation university student and two-time MU alumnus, Róisín completed her BSc at MU, placing 1st in her class before going on to complete her PhD.And recently, her work on the characterisation of breast milk sugars was part of a national study published in Nature Communications.
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Dr Róisín O’Flaherty
BSc, Chemistry
PhD, Glycochemistry
Assistant Professor,
MU Department of Chemistry