The final exam is a daunting prospect for any medical student, but for Connie Dale it was also the day she was due to give birth to her second child.
On Friday she graduated from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland along with 320 other new doctors from 33 countries. From there Dale’s world was “turned upside down and full of babies”, with two sons arriving 15 months apart. Studying, hospital placements and exams would “not have been possible” without the support of her Kerry husband, she says.
She was close to throwing in the towel when on placement at the National Maternity Hospital, Holles Street, and could not find a place to breastfeed her first son, Otto, who was six weeks old at the time. The problem was solved when consultant obstetrician Declan Keane lent her the key to his office where she could go.
Also celebrating the end of a hectic period of study, work and family life was mature student Desmond Killick , who worked as a nurse throughout his first four years at the college. Killick knew he was taking on a big commitment before beginning the five-year journey, as he would have to continue to earn while also starting a family.
“The problem was solved when consultant obstetrician Declan Keane lent her the key to his office where she could go.” That’s hardly solving the problem. It’s just another example of individuals making sacrifices to bail out the systemic misogyny of the medical training system.
Congratulations to all!