First Cardiac Rehabilitation Degrees in Europe

Posted on: 18 November 2005

The first Masters degrees in Cardiac Rehabilitation to be awarded in Europe were conferred upon seven recipients at Trinity College Dublin today. The course was devised by Ms Juliette Hussey and Dr John Gormley of the School of Physiotherapy in Trinity College Dublin with the cooperation of Professor Christopher Bell of the Physiology Department, TCD and Professor Ian Graham of the Cardiology Department in the Adelaide & Meath and National Children’s Hospital (AMNCH) Tallaght.

“The M.Sc in Cardiac Rehabilitation is a unique degree in that it is the only one of its kind in Europe, specifically designed to cater for the growing needs of healthcare professionals providing rehabilitation to thousands of patients with cardiac disease in Ireland and abroad. Trinity College is proud to be the first institution to award the degrees to the recipients. The M.Sc was set up in 2002 as a response to the Government’s Cardiovascular Health Strategy of 1999,” said Dr John Gormley, lecturer in Physiotherapy and currently the Coordinator of the programme. “A recommendation of the Cardiovascular Health Strategy was that every hospital that treats patients with heart disease should provide a Cardiac Rehabilitation service”.

The course aims to provide health professionals with an understanding of cardiac rehabilitation, to prepare health professionals to provide an effective cardiac rehabilitation service and to objectively evaluate their clinical practice through research. The course requires attendance on a part-time basis over two years with lectures, seminars and practical experience in year one followed by an extensive dissertation in year two.

M.Sc in Cardiac Rehabilitation Commencements

The candidates receiving the MSc in Cardiac Rehabilitation are:

Ms Kay Karim
Cardiac Rehabilitation Coordinator
Kerry General Hospital
Tralee

Ms Valerie Collender
Cardiac Rehabilitation Coordinator
South Infirmary-Victoria University Hospital
Cork

Ms Anne McGowan
Clinical Nurse Specialist, Cardiac Rehabilitation
Sligo General Hospital
Sligo

Ms Maeve O’Reilly
Clinical Nurse Specialist Cardiac Rehabilitation
Sligo General Hospital
Sligo

Ms Colette McIlwaine
Senior Physiotherapist,
Cardiac Rehabilitation,
Letterkenny General Hospital,
Co. Donegal

Ms Fiona Boyle
Smoking Cessation Advisor
Health Promotion
Letterkenny
Co. Donegal

Ms Ann Deasy (in abstentia)
Cardiac Rehabilitation Coordinator,
Mercy University Hospital,
Cork