Dia Dhaoibh – Hello from Ireland!
The Women in Medicine in Ireland Network (WiMIN) has been weathering the storm of Covid-19, like all of our colleagues around the world. Many of our members have been at the forefront of the strategic and clinical management of the pandemic, and their commitment and dedication are now paying off with a decline in hospitalisations and deaths from Covid 19. Many GPs and hospital staff have been involved in our vaccination programme which, while slow to start, is now well under way, with over half our population having received their first dose and a third now fully vaccinated. Having overcome one huge hurdle, we were faced with an even bigger one, when our national health service’s IT system was hacked by international criminal, bringing the entire service to its knees. A return to paper records, handwritten lab reports and manual transcription of radiology assessments resulted in huge delays and risks for patients.
We have slowly but surely been able to get back on track, and again the determination and indefatigability of our members in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges is to be commended. However, none of us is superhuman, and we need to acknowledge the toll that all of these stressors have taken on us.
Hopefully we will all get an opportunity to enjoy the beautiful countryside and coastlines that we are so lucky to have all around us here on our green island. And we look forward to meeting up with family, friends and colleagues all over the world once it is safe to do so again.
WiMIN activities will return to face-to-face meetings in the coming months and we will also be launching our mentorship programme. Plans for the 2022 WiMIN conference will be announced in the autumn. We look forward to sharing our experiences with colleagues around the world.