MsÉilish McDermott

On completion of my BSc. (Hons) Radiography (Diagnostic) degree from Glasgow Claedonian University in 1999,  I spend my first year post-graduation working in Het Antoni van Leewenhoek Hospital (the Netherlands Cancer Institute) in Amsterdam.  During this year I gained expereince working in mammography and it was from this time,  my interest in this modality, with a particularly focus on the patient care aspects of this imaging modality, was initiated.  Following a gap year travelling through Australia and gaining experience working as a radiographer in Sydney, I returned to the west of Ireland, to Merlin Hospital, where I was introduced to DXA imaging.  From there, I moved to St. James Hospital in Dublin and was the lead radiographer tasked with establishing hte DXA scanner as part of the Falls/Osteoporosis Service, later to become Ireland largest Bone Health Clinic.

During my time there I was involved in in-house training, and training of external collegues in DXA scanning techniques, and it was from there my interest in education developed.  I was involved in establishing Irelands first DXA post-graduate education course in St. James Hospital, and in 2018 I formalised my interest in education by joining the faculty in the School of Medicine & Diagnostic Imaging in UCD.  I am the Programme Director of our DXA education with responsibility for teaching DXA Imaging to our under graduate and postgraduate students.  I am also involved in teaching mammagrapy to our undergraduate students an am currently developing a postgraduate education pieice in the same area, while also coordinating our Stage 4 academic and clinical programme.