The staff of life

GERALDINE BYRNE'S day starts each morning at 8 a.m. Almost immediately, as another busy week begins, her white coat tails are caught in the draught she creates as she moves swiftly from one department to the next.

As one of the nine full-time dieticians who work at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin, she must meet and discuss her individual case-load with a cross-section of people working in the hospital. She will talk to the medical staff - from nurses and pharmacists to doctors and consultants - and meet with social workers and members of the catering staff. "We liaise with everybody," she says.

Byrne's work involves the nutritional assessment of patients in her care. She must provide nutritional support and dietetic management, and she monitors the progress of patients. The dietician devises and implements nutritional-care plans working as part of the medical and surgical teams.

In spite of a full schedule, Byrne speaks with a calm, unhurried voice. Her eyes are clear and steady, not wavering a fraction, her manner gentle and quiet.

It is clear that Byrne is used to sitting and explaining in a delicate and intimate way why a certain dietary plan has to be followed strictly. Her words are precise and direct, without equivocation.

Byrne's works includes special responsibility for looking after patients with HIV. "You have to be sympathetic towards the patients and understand the way they are feeling. Nutrition is something that they can do to help themselves. It is something positive for them to grasp onto."

For a patient who has had part of the gut or the stomach removed, there can be "a lot of complications". The need to educate and explain is crucial. "If you educate them about the possible benefits of adhering to their diets, they will be more compliant, and that is what we have to do. You have to go through the benefits."

Some people, she says, don't recognise the diversity of the dietician's job. "I think that some people are surprised that you deal with such and such a thing - they assume that it's a doctor's role.

"It's a very interactive role," she continues. "We are always on the wards, always in the middle of it - and it's always a challenge."

Officially dietitians are referred to as clinical nutritionists. Whatever the title, she says anyone embarking on this career must enjoy dealing with people. "You do have to have a certain interest in and knowledge of food as well.

"Also, you are working as part of a team. You have to discuss things with so many different people, to be able to mix and assess a problem."

Byrne became interested in this career through her love of chemistry. While at school in St Brigid's College in Callan, Co Kilkenny, she read the course prospectus from DIT Kevin Street. She saw that the course was firmly rooted in science, and chemistry in particular.

"I looked through it, and it just seemed to suit me." The course includes biochemistry, medicine, physiology, food science, dietetics and microbiology. In a hospital ward, "everything links together".

There were 18 in her class, and as is often the case, all were women. Maybe, she ponders, the sex imbalance in clinical nutrition is due to the perception that a dietician is just someone who gives out weight reduction diets. Or perhaps people think the course has something to do with cookery - "we don't actually cook the food."

The dietician's main concern in applying the science of nutrition and dietetics and to human health and well-being. As a scientist, Byrne explains, "you do have to be objective, you see people who are very ill". At the same time, she adds, "you can not be hard. It is important to be sympathetic when you are with the patient."