This most recent post has been written by an esteemed alumnus John G. Brock-Utne who has edited a book of reminicences by his fellow class-mates:
‘In 1962, 120 students started pre-med studies at Trinity College. Six years later, in 1968, 50 students qualified. As of December 2021, there are 41 of the original class left. I have been in contact with 34 of these and, of that number, 29 have contributed to a new book telling of the events in their professional lives during fifty years following their Trinity days. Some have included stories of life in the medical school during the pre-medical year and pre-clinical years, as well as the clinical residency years spent at several of the hospitals of the ‘Federation’ – Sir Patrick Dun’s Hospital, the Adelaide Hospital, the Meath Hospital, Dr. Steevens’ Hospital, the Royal City of Dublin Hospital, Mercer’s Hospital and the National Children’s Hospital (the first children’s hospital in Great Britain and Ireland) – along with placements at the Rotunda Hospital, Holles Street Maternity Hospital, and St. Patrick’s Psychiatric Hospital. The clear impact of these experiences, and the impressions created by the many wonderful mentors during those years, pour from these pages, mostly within a humorous context; after all, laughter is a great anxiolytic, and was much needed in regular doses by most of us back then. The final section of the book shows a collection of pictures from our time in Trinity, our internships and the reunions we have had in Dublin over the years. Also included are copies of our final exam papers, with the editor’s 1962 acceptance letter to TCD and an index of the many wonderful medical personalities, teachers and students mentioned in the text. Inexorably, Trinity modified, reshaped and tempered our characters and personalities and left its mark upon all of us forever.
The medical graduation year of 1968 is exceptional as we went to work in well over 25 different countries and have settled in all SIX of the habitable continents on this planet.
We all hope that you will enjoy our reminiscences from our times at Trinity and beyond. “
John G. Brock-Utne (ed.), The medics of Trinity College, Dublin in the 1960s. Anecdotes, reflections from Dublin and their professional lives (2021).
John G. Brock-Utne, MA, MB, BCh, (TCD) MD, PhD, (Bergen), FCMSA.
Professor of Anesthesia, Emeritus , Stanford University Medical Center