From the rugby pitch to the front line: Claire McLaughlin
Ulster Rugby recently caught up with Old Belvedere and Irish Rugby back row – and A&E doctor – Claire McLaughlin to find out how she has been coping at work, how she balances her medical and rugby careers and the skills she has applied to both.
How has work been for you over the last few months?
The past few months have been pretty hectic for me! I’ve been working in A&E at the Ulster Hospital, and for the first while during the pandemic, the department wasn’t too busy but I was still there 30-40 hours a week. The last few months, it’s gone from being a quiet and uncertain environment to being absolutely hectic. It’s busier than it was before the onset of COVID-19; the conditions are pretty difficult, with PPE, social distancing, and the other measures we’ve put in place.
How have you coped during this time? With A&E being quiet initially, is there a fear that there is now a backlog with scheduled procedures being delayed and people avoiding going to hospital?
I think the knock-on effects of COVID-19 are going to be massive. Over the past few months, as A&E has got busier, the hospital beds have filled up again, and we’re struggling for space. A lot of clinics, operating lists and procedures have started up again, but the impact the past few months will have had on waiting lists and people’s health will be massive. With COVID, we recognise there have been a lot of people who’ve been scared to come to A&E or go to their doctor, so there are people with genuine medical problems who are going undiagnosed. That could lead to further problems down the line where we might see people with complications because they’ve been scared to get their early symptoms checked out because of the fear going to their GP or A&E.
It must take its toll on you as a doctor. How have you coped mentally with stress in work?
Work is always stressful, and in every type of work, there will always be an element of stress. In A&E, the environment is hectic- people everywhere, moving around different areas in the department, healthcare staff juggling numerous patients and jobs- it’s just non-stop. Some people thrive on that- there is so much going on, and never a dull moment. Day-to-day, you don’t know how busy a department you’re coming into, or even know what area of A&E you’ll be working in; minors, majors, resus, COVID, or paediatrics. I just have to accept there’s going to be some uncertainty in the day, and realise there are certain things I can’t control. This is definitely something I struggled with when I first started in A&E, and something I’ve learned to embrace!
There are certain things I’ve learned I can control (to some extent), like taking breaks. In A&E it’s difficult because the patients just keep coming, and it’s very tempting to just keep on seeing more and more patients, and neglect to look after your own wellbeing! You have to juggle a lot of things at one time. You could be dealing with four or five patients at once, so it’s important to be organised, have a plan in your head, try not to do much and take time away to get that coffee break. I always find I work much more efficiently after I’ve had a quick break!
How have you been able to juggle such a demanding job with a successful rugby career?
That is something I’ve had to learn. I’ve essentially been juggling my rugby and my medical career for the past 10 years, studying at Queen’s and then working for the past 4 years. Through university, it was definitely easier, because I had more free time either side of placement and lectures to fit my training in. Then when I graduated, my first year as a doctor was horrendous! Looking back, I don’t know how I did it all! I was working silly hours at the hospital and working long days, weekends and nights. I could have been working up to 60 hours a week and trying to fit training in around that. It meant early morning gym sessions and late evening conditioning sessions, travelling to Dublin for training camp at the weekends, and swapping shifts to make it to matches. That year of full-time work, trying to juggle rugby and train for the World Cup, it completely burnt me out and made me realise it was too much and not sustainable.
After that, I decided to cut back on work; I moved to working part-time, around 30-40 hours a week. It worked well, allowing me balance both work and rugby, but I had to make certain sacrifices in order to get that balance. At that point, I had to work out what my priorities were and what I wanted to get out of life. When I worked full-time, life was so busy that I wasn’t enjoying either work or rugby, so I took a step back and recognised this wasn’t how I wanted to live. I want to enjoy myself while still being able to do those things I loved. From then, at the start of each week, I would plan out my week; noting down what shifts I had to work and what training I needed to get done, piecing it all together, to work out what free time I might have for friends and family. It was definitely a steep learning curve, working out how to balance everything. At the minute I’m working as a locum in A&E, so I’m able to have some flexibility with my shifts each week, which is great in order to fit everything in. I’m not sure I’ll ever get everything to balance perfectly though!
Behind the Player with @DeloitteNI
In this week’s instalment of ‘Behind the Player’, we spoke to @OldBelvoWomen, Ulster and @IrishRugby back-rower, @claire__mcl about her rugby career and some of the challenges she has faced.
Full interview https://t.co/H5ALTGtfvd pic.twitter.com/Q5ajwADwyC
— Ulster Rugby (@UlsterRugby) July 10, 2020
Have you picked up any skills either through your studying or work that you’ve been able to transfer to rugby?
There are so many skills that transfer between rugby and medicine! The two that jump out for me are communication and teamwork. They are vital for both careers. I learned a lot about communication through medicine. We did a lot of workshops about how to communicate with patients and relatives, but I don’t feel I learned that properly until I was thrown into it at work. Day-to-day, you communicate not just with patients but with other doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals. That was something I struggled with because growing up I was really shy – I would still say I’m quite quiet – it is something I’ve really had to work on. Through both medicine and rugby, my communication has really come on in the last few years.
I’ve learned a lot about teamwork through playing rugby and have been able to transfer that to my medical career. I think it’s so vital in medicine that you’re a team player, and are able to work closely with and get along with others to do the best for your patients. I think you can often tell which doctors have been part of a team before by the way they interact with others and are able to bring others along to work together.
Confidence is important in both careers too- it may not be a skill, but is important to have belief in your own ability, skills and experience. Belief in yourself and what you’re doing is vital in order to do a job well, and it’s important to have self-awareness to know, and therefore work on both your strengths and weaknesses.
Do you think that might have been a factor in your recent move from centre to the back row – perhaps the coaches wanted to put your strengths to good use?
I only moved to the backrow in the last couple of years. I wish I made the move sooner because I absolutely love it. I think my strengths and skills are really well suited to playing in the back row. What I love about rugby is the physicality, being able to make hits and carry ball. In the pack, you’re so much more involved in the game and it’s all go. You’re hitting rucks, carrying ball, getting up from rucks and looking where you’re going to next. Part of me wishes I had moved sooner, but it was coaches who pointed out that a move to the back row might be a good idea. I was quite cautious initially because I was in the Irish squad as a centre, and during the Six Nations in 2018, I played the majority of the matches on the wing. That summer during Interprovincial training, Suff (Derek Suffern, Ulster women’s Performance Coach) suggested I move to the back row. I was torn as I liked the idea of playing backrow, but thought if I moved, I might not play for Ireland again.
I had to have conversations with Ulster and Ireland coaches about what would be best. We agreed that I would try playing in the Inter-Pros in the backrow and see how it goes. Adam Griggs, the Ireland Head Coach told me I needed to show that I had the core skills and I would still be considered for the Irish squad. I got through those Inter-Pro games and massively enjoyed playing in the back row. I got called up to the Irish squad again but was back to playing centre in the Autumn Internationals. In the USA game, I was on the bench as a centre replacement and only got to play 15 minutes at the end. I maybe only hit three rucks and made one tackle and came off thinking “I did very little, I’m not going to get selected against England.” I expected to be dropped, and the following week got a text from Griggsy asking for a chat. I thought it wasn’t good news, but fortunately he was ringing to tell me I was in the 23 against England as a back row replacement! I was so surprised, and relieved, and excited and nervous all at once. I couldn’t believe I was on the squad and within a two-week period, moving from centre to back row having never trained in the forwards with Ireland before! It blew my mind.
Getting onto the pitch at Twickenham was unbelievable. I played about 20 minutes at Number 8 and I remember 5 minutes in, asking one of the props, “how do you do this for 80 minutes?!”. I had never experienced intensity or physicality like it, and I absolutely loved it.
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