The Role of Adrenaline

Abstract

I am an intensive care consultant at the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow, and much of the clinical part of my job is applied Physiology. The Paediatric Intensive Care Unit in which I work provides “life support” (in technical terms, essential organ support) to babies, children and young people who have critical illnesses and/or life-limiting chronic diseases, or who have undergone major life-altering surgery. My hospital hosts the national Scottish Paediatric Cardiac Service and about 40% of my clinical work involves caring for these patients, many of whom need open heart surgery to correct problems in the structure of their heart. These conditions are grouped under the umbrella term “congenital heart disease”, where congenital means born-with. Often these patients are only months, days or even hours old when they need life-saving treatment from us.

In parallel to my postgraduate medical training, I studied creative writing & cultural studies at UTS Sydney and the University of Glasgow, where I graduated MLitt in Creative Writing in 2008. While I write mainly for the personal satisfaction it gives me, I also use the creative side of my experience to try and process challenging situations I encounter in my professional life in the NHS.