Interviews
Name: Dr Mark Ryan
Title: Interventional Radiologist at St James Hospital; Beacon Hospital; and Our Ladys Hospital for Sick Children.
TCD Qualifications: MB BCh BAO (1988)
About: As an Interventional Radiologist Dr Ryan specialises in the areas of Interventional Oncology, embolotherapy, treatment of Vascular Malformations and in the diagnosis and management of bleeding abnormalities. He is also a medical volunteer for the charity Operation Childlife.
What was your earliest childhood ambition?
I am fairly sure that to be a fireman or an astronaut was in the mix somewhere early on, pretty much like all young children. However, I do distinctly remember at around twelve years old making a firm decision that medicine was what I wanted to do. My best friend’s father was a doctor, and I think that subconsciously he was an influence on me as he had an interest in sports medicine. I was sports mad so I thought that sports medicine was the path for me at that stage. There was also an awareness of medicine in my family. My father was involved in healthcare on the business side of things, and my mother was a Midwife. It clearly rubbed off on my sister and I as we both ended up pursuing careers in medicine, both graduating from Trinity (one achieving Schol and it wasn’t me!).
What made you decide to study medicine at Trinity?
Once I made the decision to do medicine there really was no other place that I considered going but Trinity. As a child I walked through campus many times and I remember seeing students walking confidently under Front Arch knowing their futures blazed brightly ahead. I realised that I wanted to be part of it. The atmosphere of the campus captivated me from an early age. It still does.
What is your strongest memory of Trinity in the 1980s?
I think that it is impossible to distil it down to a single memory as there are many. The friendship and the camaraderie, interspersed with the terror of exam time made a lasting impression. I also cherish the memories of swimming with DU Club and working as a medic for the Trinity Rugby Team.
How did you choose your area of specialisation?
There was both luck and design involved. I always knew that I wanted to practice in a hands-on procedural based specialty. I developed an interest in Radiology whilst doing some sports-related research in Trinity with Professor Maura O' Brien. This led me to doing a Fellowship in Radiology where I developed an interest in the procedural side of the specialty. I received a post-Fellowship position at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston, part of Harvard Medical School. I was completely taken with the revolutionary new techniques that were being developed in Interventional Radiology at that time and fortunately that love has never left me.
What do you love most about your work?
Interventional Radiology is such a varied and diverse specialty. We treat patients with conditions as diverse as acute stroke, cancer, vascular disease, fibroids, vascular malformations, bleeding and clotting disorders, just to name a few. We perform procedures using a minimally invasive approach which decreases the amount of pain patients have after procedures and accelerates their recovery. I love the patient interaction and the opportunity to make a positive impact in patients and families lives.
What has been your greatest achievement of your life so far?
I think that’s a very difficult question to answer and possibly one that’s often best left to others to judge. Professionally, I have had a career that thus far has probably exceeded my expectations starting out. I certainly take great satisfaction from the knowledge that I worked at Massachussetts General Hospital in Boston, and not only survived but thrived in the academic environment that it provided. I went on to become an Assistant Professor of Radiology at Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina for nearly 7 years and again it offered an opportunity for me to thrive clinically and academically in a very competitive environment. I received my Consultant position at St James Hospital in Dublin in 2004 which was also a milestone for me as it was a culmination of my professional ambitions that I had starting out. Personally, I have been married to my wife Brid for nearly twenty years and we have two wonderful teenage girls who still speak to us!
Tell us briefly about your experience as a medical volunteer in Vietnam?
I have worked with a medical charity called Operation Childlife (www.operationchildlife.com) since 2010. It is an international humanitarian charitable programme set up by Irish doctors and nurses to provide access to paediatric medical expertise in developing countries. The programme currently runs in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam, Dar as Salaam and Tanzania. I am involved with the Ho Chi Minh programme. The experience of working in HCMC has been a frequent reminder to me as to why I choose medicine as a career in the first place. The work is diverse and challenging, and making a difference to the lives of others is the essence of what medicine is about.
What advice would you give to students considering a career in medicine?
I have been asked this question many times and my answer is always the same. Make sure you do something that you love. If you do, then work becomes a pleasure. To do medicine you need to genuinely be interested in people, and in making their lives better. The medical profession is not for everyone, and it shouldn’t be chosen just because you have enough points, or because of any perceived social or financial status that it confers. However if medicine is what you want to do, don’t let anyone put you off, just go for it. It can be a wonderful career and if you are fortunate, you will end up in Trinity!