My Working Day:As a Defence Force Medical Officer in the Lebanon, Comdt Paul Hickeyenjoys the sense of adventure that he gets from his job
Normally my day in the Lebanon starts at 6.30am, or "reveille" as it is called in the army. We have breakfast in a large cookhouse and then go to the morning brief. This outlines what has happened in the past 24 hours, gives details of operations planned and intelligence gathered.
Then I do my clinic. Anyone who is sick has to report to the medical post and get treatment and/or referral. I work there for about an hour and a half, after which we break for coffee and then it's back to the office for administration work until lunch.
In the afternoon, usually 3.30-5.30pm, I do physical training, such as running, gym work or circuits. That bring us up to dinnertime, and the evenings are spent relaxing.
I've been in the Lebanon since last May, having being in Liberia in 2005 and 2006. There was no one thing that attracted me to the Defence Forces. Nothing I saw or did as a medical student told me it would be the career for me, I just had it in my mind that it was something I wanted to do. I always had a sense of adventure and I realised that with the Defence Forces there is an implied sense of travel and an implication also that you would be seeing things you wouldn't see in a normal day in any walk of life.
We are a little restricted in our work environment here as there is a real and sizeable threat. Four Spanish soldiers were killed about 5km from where we are stationed, so we are very conscious of the dangers.
Most of my work involves treating day-to-day primary practice issues. I have 370 potential patients under my care, 160 of those are Irish and there are 210 Finnish soldiers. There are lots of sports injuries, given that we have a very fit male population who play sport to a high level. We get a lot of knee, ankle and back complaints.
The tough part of this job is being away for long periods. You have to put your life on hold for six months. It's different when you reach your 30s or 40s than say your 20s, and it can be difficult to keep relationships going or keep your finances in check when you're away for so long.
I love it. I don't really do it for the remuneration, which is reasonable, but not on a par with what I could get back home. The lifestyle is fantastic and there is a great sense of adventure. The guys here are very capable and have a great "can do" approach. I like surrounding myself with those types of people.
In conversation with Brian O'Connell