Meet The Team: Rebecca O'Callaghan

Rebecca O’Callaghan

FERTILITY NURSE SPECIALIST

What is Your Job Title?

Fertility Nurse Specialist

Where did you study/go to school?

I attended both primary and secondary schools locally in Ballincollig, and completed my Junior and Leaving Certificates there also. I went on to study a BSc (Hons) in General Nursing at University College Cork. My core hospital group, where I did most of my work placements, was Cork University Hospital.

Do you have any Hobbies?

My hobbies include going to the gym, socialising with friends, shopping, beauty and reading when I get the time.

Describe your Job in Five Words:

Fulfilling, interesting, satisfying, educational and rewarding.

Describe Yourself in Five Words:

Motivated, friendly, chatty, hard-working, and caring.

What is needed for this kind of Work?

I think with all walks of nursing there is a specific type of personality needed to cater to the job. You need to be professional and vigilant, and constantly thinking about the next potential step for a patient. You have to not only be aware of the medical help patients require, but the emotional help is also vital when it comes to fertility. You need to be straight in the decisions you make, but caring and kind in how you make and deliver them. Excellent communication skills are required, not only with your patients, but also with your fellow colleagues for care to run smoothly. You need to love what you do.

When did you join the Waterstone Team?

I joined in June 2015.

Describe a Typical Day at Work:

Your day can start at different times, depending on what you are rostered for that day. We run a full theatre and recovery for patients having fertility procedures such as egg collections, embryo transfers, IUIs, aspirations, and testicular biopsies as part of fertility treatments.

Every day, one or two doctors hold a clinic for patients to come in to meet them, whether it be for a first consultation or review consultation, and a nurse will always assist at sessions.

We have a full-time nurse in the office taking patients’ calls and queries. We also have nurses meeting patients for information sessions, taking bloods, and doing drug demonstrations.

Every day, there are nurses also seeing people through scan appointments. We also have nurses working in more specialised fields, such as egg donation, sperm donation, PGD & PGS.

Do you work in a Team or on your own?

I work within a large group of people made up of lots of different teams and each person is as important as the next.

What are the Best Parts of Your Job?

Knowing that every day you go to work, you get to help somebody. Also, receiving photos of beautiful babies a few months down the line from when patients have attended the clinic is an amazing feeling.

Any Final Thoughts?

I’d encourage anybody who is having worries about their fertility to get in contact and book a fertility check. It can be a daunting thing to do but age is such a big factor in this area, being pro-active is something you will never regret doing. If something presents itself as an issue, knowledge is key to overcoming it. And best case scenario if all looks fine you have at least received reassurance about your situation.