A New Life:Claire Kehoe left a career in IT to study medicine, but the biggest challenge is leaving her family during the week, she tells Michael Kelly.
All career changes come with their own set of challenges but there's something particularly daunting about the notion of leaving behind an IT career after 17 years to study medicine.
Frenchwoman Claire Kehoe started a four-year graduate entry programme in medicine at the University of Limerick last year and, in addition to the rigours of studying to become a doctor, she also has some additional hurdles to overcome - firstly, though her English is excellent, it is not her native tongue, so she is essentially studying in a foreign language.
And secondly, she must spend her week days separated from her husband and two children, who live in Dublin.
Kehoe studied biochemistry in Paris and genetic engineering in Strasbourg before getting sidetracked in a career in IT.
"In the early 1990s in France there were not enough IT graduates so they started recruiting quite aggressively among scientists and training them up to be developers.
"I worked for a very young, dynamic company in software development and project management. I enjoyed it - it was great to be able to afford things after being a student."
On her first day's training with that company she met her husband-to-be, Kevin. "The company went to Trinity College in Dublin looking for graduates so he decided to go to Paris."
The couple married in 1993 and worked for a period in Britain before settling in Ireland at the turn of the millennium. "Kevin wanted to go back to Ireland because he thought it would be a great place to live and to raise kids. But, as it happened, our timing was really terrible. We moved back at the same time as the dotcom crash.
"My husband got a job but he was then made redundant. At this stage we had two young kids so it was a very difficult time. I did swear a lot and I was asking myself, why did we make this move?"
Circumstances forced Kehoe to take an IT contract in Britain. "For two years I travelled every week over and back for work. Being away was very difficult but it had to be done. After that the situation improved in Ireland - Kevin was back at work and I suppose I had more on my CV to impress employers with by then. I got a job with a company in Dún Laoghaire."
She noticed some cultural differences between her native France and her new home. "The main thing for me was the food. I noticed a big difference when we moved to England from Paris and there was even less variety in Ireland. I think that has changed since but when we came first the supermarkets didn't cater for Continental tastes.
"I was eating less fruit and vegetables here than I was used to. There was a very restricted supply of seasonal vegetables and lots of broccoli. But I found the Irish very welcoming and friendly. In Britain it was very materialistic. You were expected to conform and have the latest car registration. Moving to Ireland was a bit of a liberation."
So what led to her monumental career change?
"I always wanted to be a doctor but I just didn't go down that route. When I was thinking about my job I would think - how tedious. I enjoyed IT but what I enjoyed was the relationships I had with people. Apart from that, it can be quite a lonesome job.
"I looked at psychology as well but then I heard about the graduate medical programme in UL. My kids were that little bit older so they were more autonomous."
Without having made her mind up to make the change, Kehoe sat the GAMSAT entry exam for the course and came in the top 60 in the State.
"Even then it was still a huge decision. I mean, it's a four-year commitment and to have to leave the kids behind for that length of time, it's very difficult. Also it's very expensive at about €12,000 a year on one salary. But my husband has been fantastic - really supportive. At the moment he is doing everything for our children - cooking their meals, doing all the school runs, picking them up from after-school care in the evening.
"What I really miss is the small things - all the little daily joys and pains they have. We try to speak every day. We have Skype so I can see them and they can see me.
"But it is difficult - they have just one person organising their lives now. It's a big sacrifice but the further I go, the less I can see myself sitting behind a desk so I think that's a good sign."
Although she is fluent in English, the medical jargon still poses challenges. "I make lots of spelling mistakes," she laughs. She describes the course as "brilliant".
"Every week we start with a real case study and all the learning we do for the week centres on that. This is a very different approach. I think when we go out in to the real world we will have a good understanding of our patients."
Kehoe is the oldest student in the programme and the only one who has children. "It's lonely at times because it can be difficult for me to relate to the other students. It's strange to rejoin student life and be back to student food and accommodation. All of the other students are very young graduates. We study very hard and I try to get everything done during the week so that I have the weekends free. In my mind all the time I am thinking about the weekend and getting home to my family."