Trinity Student Medical Journal 2003

Introduction

Ciara McLaughlin, Director of Publications

Dear Reader,

Welcome to the fourth volume of the Trinity Student Medical Journal (TSMJ). I would like to commend your taste in journals! I have had the honour of directing the TSMJ this year, and it has been a wonderful year for all involved in the publication of the journal.

The TSMJ is in its fourth year of life and the 2003 TSMJ Committee has had the difficult task of following in the footsteps of the previous three committees. We applaud those committees for setting such high standards for us to follow. In recognition of their work many initiatives instituted in previous years have been continued and expanded upon this year.

The TSMJ remains, as it has always been, an inclusive vehicle for students to communicate current medical research, opinions and thoughts to other students,  faculty members,  and affiliated hospitals and institutions.  Bearing that in mind, we actively sought to invite and encourage students from all schools within the Health Sciences and Biomedical Faculties to submit articles. This had proven very successful, as you shall soon discover. I would like to express my sincere thanks to everyone in the various schools for their enthusiasm and support.

A large quantity of high-calibre articles were submitted to our editors this year. We were impressed by the quality and originality evident in these submissions. Regretfully, due to space constrictions, many articles simply could not be included. The committee would like to express its thanks to all the authors who spent valuable time and energy researching and writing these pieces. There would be no journal without you!

The awards for the top articles in the journal give our authors financial incentives to work that little bit harder and we wish to thank our sponsors for enabling such incentives to exist. The TSMJ Scholarship, set up to reward excellence in extra-curricular activities, has been carried on. We thank the Common Room Trust for kindly providing the money for this.

We have followed the example set by last year’s journal, by including a feature section in the journal. The theme of the section is "Communication in the World of Health Care". The second TSMJ-Evening Conference will examine issues surrounding this topic.

This year the TSMJ has been produced in conjunction with Dublin University Publications. We have been able to access their great production facilities. Thanks to all at DU Publications, Carl Whyte in particular, for enabling this to happen. The TSMJ committee has been campaigning for the allocation of a permanent, dedicated office. We are hopeful that this is an achievable goal. We would like to acknowledge the support afforded to us by Professor Shanley and Fedelma McNamara with regard to this issue. 

To Heather, Ellen, Nikos, Roseita, Rachel, Brenda, Stephen, Killian, Colm, Mark, Rebecca, Cliona, Wendy, Kieran, David, John and Audrey – thank you all. Your hard work and invaluable support have made my job as director much easier. Your enthusiasm and commitment is a credit to you all.

I am indebted to Professor Con Feighery and Professor Moira O’Brien - the TSMJ advisors - for their counsel, encouragement, practical help and above all - generosity with their time. I would like to offer them my sincere thanks and gratitude.

There have been so many people who have contributed towards the publication of the TSMJ that it would be impossible to name each one individually. On behalf of everyone in the committee, however, I would like to express our gratitude for their help.

                                                                                                            Ciara McLaughlin

                                                                                                            Director - TSMJ 2003