Heavy medicine doing the rounds

While studying for a medical degree students don't realise how tough the actual job is going to be, according to Dr Niamh Lynch, who is training in paediatrics at Holles street hospital. "Studying is difficult but is is not as physically draining as actually working when you are on call," she explains.

"I have started a new job where there is a very steep learning curve," she says. "You are in a new building; have new patients; have a new type of patient; you have to learn quickly and you have to think on your feet," says Lynch.

She and many of her colleagues have to be among the most motivated people in the State. They study for six years to get a basic medical degree.

"Once you qualify you don't have any practical skills, like putting in drips or taking blood tests," she says. "We have all the theory; we know all the drugs but we don't have the practical experience of dealing with the patients," she says. "It is something you have to learn with time anyway.

"You are qualified but you have to do your internship (six months medicine and six in surgery) to become fully registered with the Irish Medical Council," she says.

And this is just her basic training, from which a further series of career choices must be made.

From here Lynch had to choose what area to specialise in: obstetrics and gynaecology, surgery, medicine, paediatrics or general practice.

She chose paediatrics which involves a further two years training and two exams to become a member of the Royal College of Physicians. Niamh Lynch is sitting her first exam in May, while also working long hours in the hospital.

"Some people don't get their first choice of specialisation," she explains, "they have to do other things first. I was just lucky that I got what I wanted, but it is not that straightforward for a lot of people," she adds.

Her interest in medicine began at a young age.

"I was always fascinated by the human body and science, and was always drawn towards medicine," she says. Being the eldest child in the family, she always had to look after them. As she grew older she did voluntary work for L'arche, a community organisation working with handicapped people.

"I suppose the altruistic part of medicine attracted me," she says. "It was only when I did my pre-Leaving Certificate that I thought `maybe I can get the points'," she says. "Then I did the Leaving and did quite well, but missed medicine by a point. I realised if I put in a hard year's work year, I could probably get the points," she says.

`STUDYING medicine in UCC was enjoyable," she says. "We were a close year and I think every year is a close year in medicine because you are living in each others pockets for six years, and you just get to know people really well," she adds.

"We had a lot of study to do, especially in the final year when I was doing up to six hours a day," she says.

She graduated two years ago when she was 26 years of age. "My ultimate aim is consultancy," she says, which may take another six to eight years to achieve, and possibly involve going abroad to get more experience or specialist training.

"Although there is a wide range of people who study medicine," she says, "doctors must have good communication skills and a sense of humour.

"Parents are always extremely concerned about their children and get very anxious if they don't understand what is going on."

Current training practices however are having an adverse impact on the number of women staying on in the hospital system, says Lynch, as they are finding it difficulty to combine family and work commitments. "There is going to be a shortage of woman-power, because women can't balance their commitments," she says. "This is going to lead to a shortage of doctors in the near future."

Although plans to accommodate women's needs have not yet been put in place here, it is hoped that jobshare schemes, already in operation in Britain for paediatric doctors, may catch on here, she says.

Junior doctors' pay and hours of work are also a source of contention in the industry.

"Everyone has the misconception that doctors earn a lot of money but it's not true," she says. "We work a lot of hours and we get paid for the hours we work but we don't have time to spend our money." And when their average working week can vary between 70 and 120 hours, junior doctors definitely are some of the hardest workers in the State. But then junior doctors are also some of the most motivated.

"I am doing a job that I really want to be doing and I get satisfaction out of it every day," she says.