Eileen Nolan, Integrated Care Pathways Officer for the Regional Oncology Programme Office.
Personal/family:Married to Brendan.
What figure from the world of medicine or health do you most admire?
Minister Micheál Martin for introducing the smoking ban.
What other career might you have chosen?
GP.
If you could grant three wishes for the health service, what would they be?
Develop national cancer screening programmes, increase the number of advanced nurse practitioners in all disciplines and introduce creative tax breaks to enable older people to be cared for in their own homes or those of their families such as tax breaks for carers, building houses with flexible accommodation or family flats.
What is your greatest fear?
I really don't enjoy scary movies.
Have you ever been a patient and were you a good one?
Yes, when I was seven years old I was hospitalised with anaemia. I was a good patient and really enjoyed following the nurses around. It's probably one of the reasons I became a nurse.
When or where are you happiest?
The day I met Brendan and looking at show houses.
How do you cope with stress?
Shopping for clothes.
What is the trait you most admire in yourself?
Compassion and determination.
What is the trait you most dislike in yourself?
I am impatient.
Do you use alternative or complementary medicine or therapies?
Yes.
Who or what makes you laugh?
A good film or play.
What is your motto?
Carpe Diem.
What is your favourite TV or radio programme?
Ugly Betty.
What books would you bring to a desert islands?
Bible, Property Ladder and Gone with the Wind.