‘Chronic optimist’ Catherine is driven by responsibility
Catherine Donohue, manager of Mayo University Hospital, with her mum Mary who passed away late last year.
Catherine Donohoe is the manager of the extremely busy Mayo University Hospital in Castlebar. It’s a tough job, there is no getting away from that fact. But Catherine is a woman who has years of experience in the front line as a nurse herself, both here and abroad, with a deep belief in encouraging and helping real change to happen in the health service.
What’s really striking is the way she speaks about the impact her upbringing had on her as a person. She credits her parents for her resilience and determination and the presence of a strong, inspirational female figure in the shape of her mother Mary, can be seen in abundance in Catherine’s story and the path she has chosen.
Catherine, thank you for talking to me. Tell us a little about your background?
I'm Mayo born and bred – from North Mayo. I am the youngest of a family of eight. My mum was from Galway and my dad, whilst his parents were Mayo, he was brought up in the UK. I went to school in Richmond National School and secondary school in Gortnor Abbey, and I never worked until I left home at the age of 18, so I had very protected, nice, happy childhood.
So when you did leave school, what did you decide to do?
In my Leaving Cert year, I had decided I wanted to do nursing. This would have been back in the late 80s and it wasn't easy to get into it. I did a couple of interviews for nursing once I had got my Leaving Cert and didn't get the places here in Ireland. Somewhere between September and January, I made a decision to go to the UK, and that's where I started my training.
So when you went to the UK, where did that take you?
Well, actually I went to my aunt in London and I was totally traumatised. I'd never been away on my own and I was homesick and traumatised my parents as a result of it. My brother had moved over to the UK as well, a couple of months before me. And that was a bit of the solitude I had – meeting up wherever I could meet up with him. And then a friend of mine happened to be in Epping and Chelmsford doing her nurse training, and that's why I chose to go to there. I am entirely grateful for the UK training that I got.
So how long did you spend in the UK?
I stayed in the UK for my training and a couple of years after that. But like every young person at that time, I wanted to travel and go and see the world, and nursing, again, was the career to actually achieve that. I wanted to do voluntary work, so I wanted to go with CAFOD – the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development. When I applied, I was too young, so I thought, okay, I still want to go. I went to Saudi Arabia, which was a fantastic experience. I did a lot of travelling around that area when I was out there, and again, obviously got that experience of working in a hospital where I didn't speak the primary language. I got an opportunity to learn a kind of pigeon Arabic. But I had enough to find out if somebody was sick or did they have pain, and did they want me to get somebody for them so I could do enough to actually interact with the patients.
How long were you in the Middle East, Catherine?
I stayed there for close to eighteen months. You had to get an entry visa and an exit visa for Saudi Arabia. And when I was coming home for a Christmas holiday, I couldn't get the re-entry visa. And then once I came home, I thought I’m not going back. Then I spent time travelling and went to the United States, but I didn't nurse there. I think Saudi Arabia also kind of gave me that idea of that work-life balance that I wanted. I was clear when I came back that I wasn't going to get back into an area that I couldn't make difference in. So when I travelled in the States, I absolutely had a fantastic time but I knew after six months, I wanted to get back into a routine of sorts. When I came back, my sister had actually moved to England and I said, I'll try again while in England and maybe just get a job. So I initially got a job in a Day Services Department in Cheltenham. And at the time I thought, I'll go back and I'll do another course. So I looked at sales and marketing, and within three months I thought, definitely not for me! I realised I was built to be a nurse. So I worked in Cheltenham for a couple of years and I absolutely loved it. I loved the fact that I worked initially as a staff nurse and then I was what they called over there, a junior ward manager or a junior sister. I started to realise that in a day service department, you could look at the full journey of the patient from admission to discharge and a follow up call. I got involved at that stage trying to develop change and bring in change. Then it got to the stage of me applying for a new, more senior post. And then I thought, is this the time to move back to Ireland?
So what did you decide?
The job I actually applied for was a manager of a day services department in Sligo. So I got the job, but the start date kept being extended. I said I better just move back. So I came back, and funnily enough, I worked in what was Mayo General Hospital at the time for about three months as a staff nurse, while I was waiting for my Sligo job to come up. I think I had about six years in Sligo in Day Services, and when I actually took the job, I found out that there actually was no day services department there. The job was actually setting it up and the experience I got in Sligo was just phenomenal. Again, it was a hospital that really embraced that change.
So after Sligo, where did the journey take you?
I did want another challenge and the Director of Nursing post came up in Ballina District Hospital, which was very different from day services. It was a challenge. I absolutely loved my time in Ballina District Hospital. There was lots of change. It was in a different realm from standards of care, and the staff in there were really keen to change and bring in change. I was the first lay person to ever be a Director of Nursing there. In that Director of Nursing post, you were actually responsible for the entire site. There was an administrator who visited on maybe a two week or monthly basis. But really, you were responsible for the entire site and it gave you great understanding of keeping an entire site safe and all the elements, bringing it all together. I think it's probably the first time, when I moved from there, that it was a real hard decision and the job had come up in Mayo University Hospital – the Director of Nurse and Midwifery post. I knew if I didn't take it at that time, I would have been out of acute services too long. So I started in MUH as Director of Nurse and Midwifery on Valentine's Day in 2011.
Was it a natural progression then from that role into the role you are in now?
I never wanted to go out of nursing but the hospital manager that was here had made a decision to move on. So it was kind of a fast decision whether I would apply. Then if you are coming into this role, you need to make sure that you're looking at all of the professions, not just looking at nursing and making sure you divorce yourself somewhat from nursing. So I spent a lot of time thinking about it, and I think I went on the side that I would rather be in it than have somebody else come in and me look at them and think, I wish I went and tried it. I did go for it. And again, that was another first. I was the first female manager of the hospital for Mayo but I was the second nurse. There already had been a nurse, Charlie Meehan, who preceded me.
Did your passion for what you do come from the upbringing you had?
I am 100% the outcome of my parents. We only lost my mum about four months ago. She was a school principal and she worked through the marriage ban. She was, I can say without question, the strongest woman I have ever come across in my life. And it's not just a bias because she was my mum. We saw growing up that she was totally committed to her job. She was supported by my dad in doing that. She insisted all of us had access to education. She encouraged us to go and to travel. While daddy would have been far more emotional about you leaving, she would have been the strength to make it happen. And he absolutely taught us the importance of seeing your equity with everybody around you and been able to give what you can. I couldn't have selected better parents to give you that sense of responsibility on things, giving you that sense of opportunity.
What keeps you driven Catherine?
I'm a chronic optimist – tomorrow is always going to be better. I do believe that I have got huge resilience. And I can definitely, unquestionably, say that is down to the influence that my mother had on me. At 98, right up until the bitter end, she shook herself every morning when her little body was frail and not able, and got dressed and looked well and sat up and conversed with us when she wasn't able. And so if I ever felt in the morning that I'm too tired to do it, I think, you know what, take a breath. Yes, you can. And the commitment and responsibility keeps me driven. I asked for this job. Nobody gave it or made me take it. And by asking for the job, I immediately committed that I need to keep at it until I can't. And then I should gracefully step away and allow somebody else to ask for it.
