About me

My exposure to out-of-hospital care started with the Cork City No. 1 Branch of the Irish Red Cross in 1994 when I joined as a cadet in the casualty service…aged 9! After undertaking some of my first “ambulance” work at age 12, I continued to progress through various levels of first aid and emergency medical care training, qualified as an Instructor at age 16, and eventually served as Unit Officer for 5 years. I worked as a hospital porter, where I gained experience in reception, hospital supplies, mortuary, medical records, and ED admissions. Following this, I was a student nurse in University College Cork and Cork Voluntary Hospitals, where I gained clinical experience in medical and surgical nursing, operating theatre, ICU, intellectual disability nursing, inpatient mental health, long-term care, palliative care, and public health nursing. I taught and coordinated on Irish Red Cross EMFR, EFR, and EMT courses. I trained as a paramedic in the National Ambulance Service College, and worked as a paramedic for the National Ambulance Service in Ireland, based in the Mid-West region (Limerick/Tipperary/Clare). I undertook additional education and gained experience in neonatal critical care transport.

I worked as a paramedic in Ireland for several years, and then gained experience in several countries in Europe until moving to Canada. I trained as a Critical Care Paramedic in the USA, and after this I worked as a Paramedic Educator in both the UAE and the USA. In the UAE I was responsible for program development, and clinical governance activities, including on-road clinical supervision and clinical incident investigations. I led the education for both Ebola and MERS responses. I completed a Masters in Critical Care, and developed and oversaw a new research department. I completed a PhD in Monash University in Australia. Over the past decade I have mainly focused on research and teaching activities, and now work casually as a paramedic when I get the opportunity. I hold current paramedic certifications in Ireland (PHECC registered), the UK (HCPC registered), and Ontario (AEMCA certified).

I am Deputy Editor of Paramedicine, and a former Editor-in-Chief of the Irish Journal of Paramedicine, and Resuscitation Today. I previously sat on the Editorial Boards of the International Journal of Paramedicine, International Paramedic Practice, and Canadian Paramedicine for a number of years. I perform peer review for a number of journals (listed on my Web of Science profile). I also perform peer-review for fellowship, funding, and grant applications for several national and international organisations, and I am a Senior Appraiser with the PEP Project at Dalhousie University.

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