Yes – you read right – it’s happening this Friday 14th and Saturday 15th April 2023. This year the conference, hosted by the University of Galway, will take place in the beautiful Galway Bay Hotel, located on the edge of the Atlantic with stunning views and walks. Over the two days, we have an exciting lineup of wonderful speakers, poster competitions and awards, and a beautiful Gala dinner on the Friday night with guaranteed excellent entertainment by Galway’s one and only Sean De Burca: “The Piano Man”!
We will also be joined by perhaps one of the most inspirational young people of our time, Jack Kavanagh. In 2012 Jack Kavanagh suffered a life changing spinal cord injury leaving him with 15% muscle function, in the years since Jack has challenged the perceived limitations of his situation. In 2014 Jack gave the acclaimed TEDx Talk “Fearless Like A Child, Overcoming Adversity” and in 2019 was awarded as one of “Ten Outstanding Young People Of The Year”. Jack has also received several international awards for his documentary Breaking Boundaries. As a Pharmacist, Speaker and Facilitator Jack is passionate about the value of health & wellbeing as drivers for performance coupled with cultivating diverse & inclusive environments where people belong and are valued.
I could go on about our wonderful panel of speakers for the conference, but instead, I have attached the programme for the weekend with a short bio on each of our amazing guests.
So, to purchase a ticket (it's not too late yet!), click on the link below:
Booking: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/irish-student-health-association-conference-and-agm-tickets-541177806387
ISHA Annual AGM
Our annual AGM is being held on Saturday at the end of the conference, just before lunch, and all of you are invited to attend. We are currently looking to you, our members, to put forward any suggestions or concerns that you would like to see discussed at the AGM.
(Please note, these suggestions, when discussed, will remain entirely anonymous unless the concerned party wishes to introduce themselves or their institution)
Also, there are a number of committee members stepping down after giving years of dedication and enthusiasm to the ISHA, we thank them most sincerely for all the invaluable work they have done down through the years.
There will also be a reshuffle of some existing roles with the following roles open:
·President,
·Vice-President,
·Secretary
·Social Media and Media Relations Officer.
Ideally, we would be looking for the committee to have a representative from each of our 3rd level institutions on the panel with multiple “Executive committee members” openings available also.
The venue for next year’s meeting is also to be decided so we are looking for nominations/volunteers to pick up the mantle so that we can continue to see ISHA grow and thrive. Ideally, it works best if the President elected is a staff member of the hosting institution for the next year’s conference.
Throughout the years, Consilient Health have been our main sponsors and a huge support to the Irish Student Health Association. This year, with the implementation of the Free Contraceptive Scheme, LARC methods are becoming more popular than ever. And this is true for the hormone-free methods also. The interest in the copper only Ballerine is increasing every day and the feedback available so far has been excellent. Therefore, Consilient have offered to hold two official training sessions on Friday 14th April before and after the ISHA Conference. They will provide certification for participants who attend either of the training sessions (See attached files for times). Both of these sessions take approx. 40 mins and are being held in the Salthill Hotel, literally a 3minute walk west of the Galway Bay Hotel.
They will also have an exhibition stand at our conference where they are happy to answer any queries and provide all the relevant educational literature.
I look forward to meeting all of you who can make it this coming weekend. Wishing you safe travels and here’s to a wonderful weekend.
Kindest regards,
Serena.
Dr Serena O Connell,
President of the Irish Student Health Association.
GP, Student Health Unit, University of Galway.