Irish Medical Lives

Dr Seamus O’Mahony, retired Consultant Gastroenterologist and Clinical Professor at Cork University Hospital, is the prize-winning author of four highly acclaimed books, the first of which, The Way We Die Now, won the British Medical Association’s Council Chair’s Choice award in 2017. Can Medicine be Cured? was published in 2019, and The Ministry of Bodies in 2021. His latest book, The Guru, the Bagman and the Sceptic, was published by Head of Zeus in 2023.Seamus is a frequent contributor to the Dublin Review of Books, Observer, Irish Times, Lancet, British Medical Journal, Medical Independent, and Irish Independent, among others. He is a member of the Lancet commission on “The Value of Death” and is visiting professor at the Centre for the Humanities and Health at King’s College London.In this seriously thought-provoking episode of Irish Medical Lives, Dr O’Mahony recalls the sometimes tragic lives of his forebears in West Cork and his adventures in academic research in Edinburgh, before addressing the thorny issues of corruption (or self-service) in modern medicine, the relative impotence of the modern hospital consultant, the ‘pointlessness’ of much of medical literature (and its insidious ‘replication crisis’), and way in which modern medicine has become a sort of ‘global religion’. And he explains why ‘the compression of morbidity’ (the near-elimination of suffering in old age promised by the healthy longevity movement) is a myth, why the public health services on both sides of the Irish Sea are so clearly failing and why the notion of a (peaceful, painless and neat) ‘good death’ is unlikely to be realised in more than a few cases.Nonetheless, Seamus is optimistic that - given the right amounts of humility and honesty - the modern medic can still aspire to the most worthwhile and longstanding aspiration of all, ‘to make the conditions of human life everywhere more bearable’.

Dr Declan Kelly, Chief Executive Officer of Eolas Medical, an innovative healthcare technology company based in Belfast, is a remarkable medical entrepreneur who has - over the course of a half-decade - created one of the most influential clinical information platforms in the English-speaking world.Named after the Irish word for knowledge, the Eolas platform was created by Dr Kelly and his team of medical engineers to give clinicians instant and frictionless access to the knowledge they need to deliver effective and evidence-based care, and it has transformed how healthcare professionals interact with clinical guidelines, protocols and institutional knowledge. Eolas is now live in over 400 hospitals and healthcare sites, it covers 80% of the National Health Service in the UK, and it is used by 40% of doctors on the island of Ireland. And the mission statement is simple: to have the answer to any clinical question at every clinician’s fingertips, as and when they need it.In this podcast, Declan recalls his grandfather’s experimentation with ‘early coding’, and the crucial importance of a great teacher at school, he explains how and why he came to undertake the coding needed for the new platform, and he describes how AI (artificial intelligence) – which is already having a major impact on contemporary healthcare – can be harnessed for the clear benefit of patients and professionals.

Dr John Waterstone, Director of the Waterstone Clinics in Cork, Dublin, Limerick, and Waterford and former President of the Irish Fertility Society, is one of the true pioneers in fertility medicine in Ireland, and currently the most experienced specialist in reproductive medicine in the country.In this episode of Irish Medical Lives, Dr Waterstone recalls his childhood in Kilkenny and Westmeath, his undergraduate days in Trinity College in Dublin (where he studied genetic science and medicine), and his specialist training in fertility care in London under the auspices of great British pathfinders, such as Professor Robert Winston.John also tackles many of the questions commonly posed about fertility care in Ireland, and touches on some of the most recent advances and controversies, from delayed public funding of ‘IVF’ to the variability of actual ‘success rates’ between different services on both sides of the Atlantic.

Considering a career in public health medicine?Or wondering if there’s any point in getting involved in ‘medical politics’?In this episode, Dr Rachel McNamara, a Specialist Registrar in Public Health Medicine, former National Fellow for Innovation with the HSE Spark Innovation Programme and the first female Chair of the Irish Medical Organisations NCHD Committee, discusses the wide range of public health issues with which her speciality is engaged at the moment, from the recent Covid-19 pandemic and ‘quad-demic’ to the assimilation of Ukrainian refugees and the HPV ‘catch-up’ campaign, and she recalls her role with the IMO in bringing about some landmark protections for NCHDs in Ireland in the last few years and highlighting the particular challenges for women in medicine. Rachel also explains how her career choice was partly shaped by her father’s tragic death at an early age, why in addition to her MRCPI and Master’s in Public Health Medicine at University College Cork, she has obtained diplomas in Health Innovation, Medical Law, and Palliative Care, and why she now feels - on a personal level - that she is just where she is supposed to be - determined ‘to bring a user-centred, innovative lens to improving health services, driving improvements in patient outcomes and looking after the workforce along the way.

What’s it like being a medical student in Dublin these days?And is there more to the Intern Year than exhausting drudgery?In this episode, Dr Maia Springael, a June 2024 medical graduate and Intern at Tallaght University Hospital, explains how French schools differ from those in Ireland, describes the lasting benefits of an early career in artistic gymnastics, and explains how she ‘came out of her shell’ during her Leaving Certificate year, and made the decision to study medicine. Maia also enthuses about the annual Student Medical Summit, the Intervarsity ‘SimWars’, her hugely useful ‘electives’ in Paris, Toulouse and Cork, and the envy-inducing medics’ professional completion programme at University College Dublin. She is also remarkably upbeat about her current job.This is a must-listen for anyone considering a career in medicine or wondering how to survive (and thrive in) that first ‘Intern Year’.

Are you baffled by conflicting advice about 'bad habits'? Do you really want to live a longer, healthier and more meaningful life?Dr Paddy Barrett, Consultant Cardiologist at Dublin’s Blackrock Clinic, is one of Ireland’s leading experts in lifestyle medicine, online and clinically, with particular emphasis on exercise and ‘aggressive management’ of cardiovascular risks factors, from lipid and blood pressure levels to irregular sleep patterns. He is also a veteran of - and expert in - burnout among medics. In this wisdom-peppered episode, Paddy recalls career-changing moments, like a near-drowning while surfing off the Donegal coast, when his only thought was ‘if I die now, my boss will kill me’, and his pivot away from a training programme in interventional cardiology in New York, after the suicides of several colleagues. He reflects on a career that has taken him from flying lessons and developing wearable health technology in San Diego to working in emergency medicine in Sydney, from an interest in burnout and subsequent collaboration with experts including Deepak Chopra and the founder of the Headspace meditation app, to daily application of Socrates’ famous but often disregarded dictum: ‘The unexamined life is not worth living’. Paddy quips that offering burned-out medics a free mindfulness app is more likely to make them quit their jobs than promoting genuine reflection, that focuses on identifying personal core values and allows people to ‘design’ – and ‘course correct’ - their own lives.This episode will be especially useful for those who are unfamiliar with lifespan, healthspan and soulspan, and who’d like to enjoy a longer life, ‘packed with meaning and human connection’.

Dr Diarmuid O’Shea is a Consultant Physician in Geriatric Medicine at St Vincent’s University Hospital in Dublin, former President of the Irish Gerontological Society and National Clinical Programme Lead for the Older Persons Programme of the HSE and RCPI and, presently, the 143 rd President of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland. Dr O’Shea’s clinical and research interests include syncope, drug metabolism, and dementia, and his organisational initiatives have been largely directed towards the enhancement of patient care and of medical training in Ireland.In this podcast episode, Dr O’Shea reflects on a very happy childhood in South Dublin, in a family of high-achievers, including his father, Jerome, the famous footballer from Caherciveen with three All Ireland medals for Kerry, and two ‘celebrity’ brothers, (Endocrinologist, Professor) Donal and Conor (of international rugby fame), and he offers some amusing insights into life-long sibling rivalry!Diarmuid also recalls his enjoyable undergraduate years in UCD, and his training in the Mater, St. Vincent’s, St Columcille’s, and Wexford Hospitals, before he moved to Nashville in Tennessee, and then Newcastle, in Tyneside.Since 2000, Dr O’Shea has worked at St Vincent’s University Hospital in Dublin, and he observes that it was his exceptional good fortune to have worked with two giants of geriatric medicine in Ireland, Dr Morgan Crowe and the late Dr Denis Keating, who gave him invaluable guidance and career advice. We also hear why he is careful not to bump into his brother, Donal, in a lift!Diarmuid enthuses about his long-term passions, especially medical education, and he touches on his work as a past-Chair of the Irish Committee of Higher Medical Training, and Vice-President of Education and Professional Development at the College, along with the successful RCPI Masterclass Series (which he established), and he offers a tour d’horizon in terms of the College’s work to improve patient care, the quality of medical practice and the health of the population as a whole.In his role as the President of the RCPI, Dr O’Shea acknowledges and identifies many of the current challenges across the Irish health and social care system, and he explains why he firmly believes that ‘collaboration, recruitment and retention, as well as innovation and the ability to adapt, will be central to improving the environments in which we (all) work and train, and to delivering fit-for-purpose 21st Century training and medical care’. The Irish Medical Lives podcast is sponsored by Eolas Medical, the easy-to-use online platform that provides medical knowledge at the point of care, ensuring every healthcare professional has access to the answers they need, when they need it most. Visit eolasmedical.com to learn how to create a space for your service or download the app to gain access to thousands of clinical resources.

Professor Jean O’Sullivan is a Consultant in Emergency Medicine at Tallaght University Hospital, in Dublin, Clinical Professor of Emergency Medicine at Trinity College Dublin, and Chair of the Board and Founder of Global Emergency Care Skills (a.k.a. GECS), a voluntary, non-profit charity organisation which she founded in 2008, and which provides high quality emergency care training to healthcare professionals in Africa. To date, GECS has provided training courses for over 600 doctors, nurses and clinical officers in six African countries, where sepsis and trauma are the leading causes of death.GECS training is provided through simulation-based courses in trauma care, resuscitation skills and major incident management. All of the instructors are volunteers, who pay for their own travel, and fund-raise for the organisation, and they’ve included paramedics from the Dublin Fire Brigade, and many of the Ireland’s leading emergency physicians, like Drs Ger O’Connor, Eoin Fogarty, Cian McDermott, and Rob Eager, as well as Jean herself.Once the courses are completed, local trainers are empowered to continue the skills training for other colleagues and to lead the regional development of emergency care, and both teaching equipment and lifesaving medical equipment (like portable ultrasound machines) are provided to their hospitals. GECS has partnered with the World Health Organisation, the College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa, and the African Federation for Emergency Medicine.In 2021, GECS was the winner of the prestigious Royal College of Emergency Medicine William Rutherford Humanitarian Award. And in June 2024, Professor O’Sullivan was presented with the International Federation of Emergency Medicine Humanitarian Award in Taiwan, for her ‘exemplary leadership ...(in the) development of safer emergency care in areas of sub-Saharan Africa over the course of 16 years, through her vision, hard work and the ability to inspire others’. It is no exaggeration to say that the announcement of the latter award, in particular, was received with undiluted pride by the whole of the Irish emergency medicine community.In this podcast episode, Jean reflects on the origins of her humanitarian work and her growing involvement in global online medical education with the United Nations, as well as the major activities ‘at home’ with which she has been associated, from a ‘whistleblowing’ saga to her role with the Injuries Resolution Board, as well as her therapeutic pastime of painting. And in the process, the listener will hear how she left the podcast host very red-faced, indeed!The Irish Medical Lives podcast is sponsored by Eolas Medical, the easy-to-use online platform that provides medical knowledge at the point of care, ensuring everyhealthcare professional has access to the answers they need, when they need it most. Visit eolasmedical.com to learn how to create a space for your service or download the app to gain access to thousands of clinical resources.