Mary Mullen, clinical nurse manager of St Mary's Rapid Access Geriatric Clinic at Charter Medical in Smithfield, Dublin.
Personal/family: Single.
What figure from the world of medicine or health do you most admire?
The person I most admire is Dr Dermot Power, consultant geriatrician at the Mater and St Mary's Hospital. I admire his vision and his out-of-the-box thinking in the direction and delivery of person-centred services which is so important to the needs of older people.
What other career might you have chosen?
Medicine or law.
If you could grant three wishes for the health service, what would they be?
My first wish would be for harmonious collaboration and organisational savvy to exist within all areas of health services. My second wish is the development of gerontological nursing as a specialist area of growth. Finally, I wish that staff be regarded as a valuable resource within a positive, safe and learning environment where skills are nurtured and knowledge is utilised to maximise performance.
What is your greatest fear?
That my family might not be able to engage in an accessible customer-friendly health service.
Have you ever been a patient and were you a good one?
I have never been a patient.
When or where are you happiest?
I am at my happiest when studying.
How do you cope with stress?
My PlayStation relieves any stress.
What is the trait you most admire in yourself?
I am a very honest, straight-to-the-point person and will say exactly what I am thinking.
What is the trait you most dislike in yourself?
I try to fit too much into my working day.
Do you use alternative or complementary medicine or therapies?
No, but I believe they have appropriate uses in life.
Who or what makes you laugh?
My close friends Anto, Eamonn, Irene, Gillian and, of course, Fr Ted.
What is your motto?
Honesty is the best policy.
What is your favourite TV or radio programme?
Soisceal Pharaic, Dáil Beoagus An NuachtTG4.
What books would you bring to a desert island?
Oxford Handbook of Clinical Medicine, Peig Sayersand an English-Irish Dictionary.
In conversation with Fiona Tyrrell