Wild Geese: Michael Brennan, Mayo Clinic, Minnesota:US-based consultant says Ireland does not reach out to its Wild Geese

Michael Brennan is one of many elite doctors to have trained in Ireland before going abroad when he found his chances for advancement limited by the Irish system.

He now lives in Rochester, Minnesota, where he is among the most respected physicians in one of America’s most celebrated hospitals, the Mayo Clinic.

Having qualified from the Royal College of Surgeons in 1969, Brennan worked for some time at Irish hospitals but, keen to move his career along, he soon looked abroad.

“I left for postgraduate training,” he says.

“There wasn’t anything there at the time and unfortunately that’s the same still. That’s why so many people are leaving Ireland, leaving to Australia, New Zealand, America and Canada and all over the world.”

One of his mentors during his early career had studied at Rochester and suggested he might like to continue his studies there.

It was not a decision he took lightly. “I would have stayed in Ireland if I could have done the postgraduate training there,” he says.

“I loved living in Dublin and, to some extent, I still feel that I have never really left. I’ve maintained close contact with the country.

“I had intended to spend three to five years in the US and then return to Ireland, but that didn’t happen and then I was offered a position on the staff here at the Mayo Clinic and that was that.”

Long way from home

Minnesota is a long way from Dublin in more ways than simple distance.

Much of the state is a vast wilderness and winters are punishing, with temperatures falling to minus 20 degrees. “You learn, I suppose, to kind of attack the winters rather than being defeated and getting cabin fever,” he says.

Despite the harsh conditions, he soon discovered a cultural bonus that many Irish in America enjoy.

“Being Irish, I always felt I had an advantage in America. I was accepted immediately and my patients love Ireland.

“When I tell them where I’m from, they light up and say they had a relative from Ireland or they visited there and they loved it.

“I think we are very fortunate. We have a favoured position in this country.”

His career in Minnesota has seen him named the outstanding resident at the department of medicine at the Mayo Institute in 1975.

In 2001, he claimed the distinguished clinician award and in 2010, he was elected president of staff by his peers, becoming the first Irish person to hold the position.

He is a professor of medicine, a consultant at the division of endocrinology and metabolism and chairman of the Mayo Clinic programme on professionalism and ethics.

Brennan feels that, despite retaining close contact with his native country, Ireland is not always good at reaching out to its wild geese.

“We hear about the diaspora a lot but Ireland gives up on its sons and daughters very easily,” he adds.

“Once you leave, you’re gone, whereas we remain intensely interested in the country and we are very proud of Ireland and how it has prepared us for our lives and careers. We’re interested and we are constructive critics.

“I think that Ireland could benefit by maintaining contact with those who leave the country so that their intellectual capital remains part of the Irish setup.”

Extend the vote

He suggests extending the vote to Irish people living abroad and, for those studying medicine, that a system be set up whereby they can return to Ireland when they have completed their studies.

“The medical schools in Ireland are attracting the cream of the crop. These are academically well-equipped young people. They do well, they graduate and then there isn’t any postgraduate training.

“They are put into hospitals and work long, hard hours and are not getting the training and education to progress to the next level.

“That is one of the reasons they are leaving the country. It is not a good use of intellectual resources for Ireland – and then Ireland has to import doctors from the Indian sub-continent to work in hospitals in Ireland. It’s a tremendous waste of Irish talent.”

The reality is that many of the medical students studying in Irish universities now will go abroad.

For those, Brennan suggests early preparation.

“They should check out all the requirements and take the examinations in Dublin at the earliest opportunity. If there is someone in their institution who has done a training programme, that can help to gain insight.”

He further suggests they should be willing to travel to the US to do summer internships or clerkships at the larger academic institutes like Harvard, Mayo or UCSF.

“These are available for students in medical school in Ireland. We take up to 10 some summers and they have six weeks of experience here.

“That allows them to learn about where they may work and, also, if they do well, they become known entities when it comes around to applying for a position.”