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Tell us a bit about yourself and your background.
I am a social scientist with an interdisciplinary background. My academic formation has come via the disciplines of English, History, Gender Studies, Sociology, and Psychology. I am interested in and motivated by an interdisciplinary systems perspective on healthcare, particularly integrated healthcare for older people. My research focuses on supported healthcare decision-making as well as interprofessional collaboration and collective clinical decision-making. Outside of academia, I love swimming and reading, my favourite authors are Margaret Atwood and David Mitchell. My guilty pleasure is watching old western movies on a Sunday afternoon.
What are your goals for this year?
In terms of my professional life, my goals for this year include working with my colleagues to establish the identity of the four research domains in the school. I also hope to see 10 new Ph.D. Scholars in place in the next year and aligned to our research domains. On a more micro level, there is a research paper that I led on with a group of colleagues that I am proud of for a number of reasons but I’ve yet to find a home for. My goal is to see it in print this year. On a personal note, my youngest is starting school this September and my goal is for him to be confident and happy as he settles into this new chapter of his life. I also have recently joined a swimming club and my goal is to improve my split time for the front crawl by 5 seconds this year.
Why do you think it is important to have female role models?
It is important for everybody to have role models who reflect an inclusive and diverse community. Many people face gendered structural and cultural challenges in realising their career ambitions. These challenges are related to gendered stereotypes, gendered relational power dynamics as well as structural disadvantages associated with a gendered life course. Diverse role models, including women, allow people to recognise themselves in the culture of an organisation and they help to create a vision of an alternative more inclusive future.
Is there a woman during your career that has inspired you?
I find it difficult to single out one inspirational woman from my life. I am so lucky to have a diverse tribe of people who inspire me with their talent, ambition, kindness, and their sense of fun. Women of course are a hugely important element of that tribe which includes my mother, my sisters, and my wonderful friends. These are women that I have known since my childhood and school days, my university days, and also in UCD during my working life. I have learned so much from these women over the years and I feel incredibly supported and inspired by them. Together we have navigated similar issues in balancing our professional and career ambitions with busy personal lives. We are often each other’s counsellors, trouble-shooters, a reserve army of babysitters as well as cheerleaders. They are the single biggest influence on my career so far.
If you could wind back the clock, what advice would you give to your younger self?
What advice would I have listened to? I wish that I had known that the best things in life, both my personal life and my professional life, were not necessarily the things I spent so much of my energy planning for and worrying about! Of course, planning is important, as is perseverance and resilience but there are many twists and turns in life and my advice to my younger self is to just keep going.
Why do you think you were asked to participate in this series?
I was very surprised and honoured to have been asked to participate in this series. I hope that I am a supportive colleague and that those who work with me know me to be hardworking, generous, and enthusiastic.
Do you have any parting words of wisdom for the next generation of female nurses, midwives and healthcare professionals?
The only advice I can really offer nurses, midwives, and healthcare professionals is to know their value to the health system and to encourage them to demand the respect they deserve for their professional knowledge and skills. I would also ask them to maintain a sense of curiosity about the system in which they are working and to remember that the door to UCD is always open to them to come and satisfy that curiosity.