Job Title: Research Assistant
Department: Department of Geriatric Medicine, University Hospital Waterford.
Reporting to: Dr. Niamh O'Regan
Location: University Hospital Waterford
Contract/Duration: Temporary (4-6 months) - Part time (0.8FTE over a 5-day work week)
Remuneration: €33,291 per annum (Level 1 Point 1 of IUA payscale)
Closing Date: 23:45pm on Tuesday 4th of November 2025
About RCSI
RCSI is a community of academic, research, clinical and professional staff working collaboratively to lead the world to better health. Here, you will thrive in an innovative and inclusive atmosphere and your personal development and wellbeing will be supported. We invite you to join us to help deliver on our exciting mission "To educate, nurture and discover for the benefit of human health". We seek candidates whose experience to date has prepared them to contribute to our commitment to the "Race Equality Action Plan 2025-2029" at RCSI. Our students come from all walks of life and so do we. We hire great people from a wide variety of backgrounds. This makes our university stronger and ensures we hire the best talent.
Innovating for a Healthier Future 2023-2027 is RCSI's new five-year strategic plan. Through it, RCSI will enhance human health by meeting the health workforce needs of society, creating the insights and inventions that drive health improvements, and working in partnership with patients and the public in support of better health and well-being for all. The strategy unites the RCSI community in supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goals - with a particular focus on Goal 3, which targets good health and well-being.
For each of the last six years, RCSI has been positioned in the Top 300 of universities worldwide in the Times Higher World University Rankings. We are proud that RCSI ranks fifth in the world for "Good Health and Well-being" in the Times Higher Education #SDG #SDG Impact Rankings 2024. This reflects our commitment to supporting people of all ages to live healthy lives and our work to promote the concepts of well-being and positive health. In 2024, RCSI was delighted to be named one of the Sunday Times Best Places to Work in Ireland.
At RCSI, our core values of Respect, Collaboration, Scholarship, and Innovation are at the heart of everything we do. We are committed to creating an inclusive and supportive environment where every colleague is valued and empowered to thrive. Our dedication to these values ensures that we foster a culture of mutual respect, open collaboration, continuous learning, and innovative thinking. Join us at RCSI, where your contributions will be recognised, and you will be part of a dynamic team making a real impact on global health.
About Our Research
RCSI recognises that excellence in research is critical to the quality of its educational activities, its credibility, and, overall, to its mission to enhance human health. RCSI's research strategy aims to build upon its strength in translational biomedical and clinical research to deliver transformational, high impact changes in health care. Targeting both Irish national and EU funding, along with increased collaboration with industry, is a major part of the RCSI research strategy. Forging increased collaboration between RCSI PIs and industry is of critical importance to achieving success in this area. RCSI is also committed to provide its researchers with the supports and developmental opportunities to enable them to continuously grow and support their overall career development.
Summary of Post
The research assistant will work with an MD student (Dr. Arveen Jeyaseelan) to deliver an exercise and nutritional program in hip fracture patients after surgery in University Hospital Waterford (UHW)/ Kilcreene Regional Orthopaedic Hospital (KROH) under the supervision and direction of Dr. Niamh O'Regan, Consultant Orthogeriatrician.
This program has been designed with input from patients and experts in hip fracture care and is being delivered as part of a postgraduate research qualification with the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI). The study will involve two groups of patients, usual care group (no exercise program) and intervention group (exercise and nutritional program).
The post holder will be required to deliver the exercise program and document participation to the intervention group in detail while working within the existing framework of hip fracture aftercare in UHW/KROH.
The post holder will work in conjunction with the MD Student who will perform other duties (not within the duties of research assistant) which include recruitment into study and all other required assessments.
This post will fulfill the work commitment of a 0.8FTE research assistant for the duration of the study as outlined above.
Specifically, the duties of the post are:
* To deliver an exercise program to research participants for the duration of participation in the study in UHW/ KROH up to a maximum of 6 weeks (for prolonged hospital stays)
* To document in detail duration and performance of each participant during exercise sessions and outline any side effects of the program and liaise with MD student throughout delivery of program
* To facilitate safe delivery of exercise program to frail older adults in a postoperative setting, in conjunction with the Orthogeriatrics and multidisciplinary team
* To work within the framework of standard delivery of hip fracture aftercare with minimal interruptions to usual service
* To maintain constant communication with MD student to promote continued participation of patients in the study and complete documentation of all phases of the study with minimal loss of data.
* To document nutritional intake of participants for a total of 3 days during the program (This may be completed by the MD student and may not comprise the main duties of the post holder)
Qualifications - (Essential)
* Professional Qualifications: Undergraduate or Postgraduate degree in Sports and Exercise Science, Exercise Physiology, Physiotherapy, Nutrition and Exercise Science, Physical Education, Sports Rehabilitation or any other equivalent qualification that provides expertise in the delivery of exercise programs/ interventions.
* Experience working with older adults not essential but desirable.
Knowledge & Experience - (Essential)
* Experience, expertise and knowledge in the instruction and delivery of exercise programs
* Candidates will be required to drive as there may be a possibility that the exercise program will be delivered at Kilcreene Regional Orthopaedic Hospital (KROH)
We are all too aware that imposter syndrome and the confidence gap can sometimes stop fantastic candidates putting themselves forward, so please do submit an application - we'd love to hear from you.
Application Process
Please apply online through the RCSI careers portal on the closing date with your CV and cover letter.
Click here to read our Recruitment and Selection Policy for Researcher.
Informal Enquiries
Informal enquiries are invited in the first instance through Florencia Raimondo, Human Resources Department (email: ). All applications for this post must be made through the career's webpage Florencia can arrange for relevant queries of the role to be addressed by the hiring manager. Please note we do not accept CVs directly.
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