Dr Ciara Farrell has taken care of many children. She has tended to children with broken bones, burns and life-threatening illnesses. But the greatest challenge to her skills so far has been raising her daughter, Heather, on her own.

"It's been the most wonderful thing," says Farrell, 27. "Every night, even when I've had an incredibly bad day, I come home to something really special that allows me to just switch off the bad stuff. But it has been tricky."

The normal challenges that face junior doctors - those of working long hours for low pay - are magnified for Farrell, who has to stretch her resources even farther than her colleagues. And while most of the other doctors she works with use their spare time to catch up on sleep and meet with friends, Farrell spends much of her time organising her six-year-old daughter's schedule.

"When I was working in paediatric casualty, it was just a nightmare," Farrell explains. "I had to work 36-hour shifts, and every few weeks I was on the weekend shift that runs from Saturday morning to Monday morning. It was an ongoing effort to make sure that she always had someone looking after her."

Farrell spent two years working in paediatrics, and during that time she was fortunate to have her parents living near her in Dublin; they would often take Heather for overnights and weekends. But they were not always free, and Farrell also had to find friends, and even friends of friends, to help look after her daughter.

However, a year ago, Farrell began a new rotation in psychiatry at Tallaght Hospital, Dublin, where she now works a normal Monday to Saturday schedule. "It's been much easier," Farrell said. "I can take her to school in the morning. But I am still on call, and when I have to leave in the evenings it can be very difficult. She gets upset and doesn't understand why I have to leave."

And even with the improved schedule, there are still other problems. On Saturdays, Farrell works nearly 12 hours, which leave her exhausted on Sundays - her only full day alone with her daughter.

"No matter how awful and exhausted I am, I simply cannot be tired," Farrell said. "Heather has lots of energy and always wants to be out and doing things, and I just have to be awake. So it's good that we go out, because if we stayed home I would definitely fall asleep."

Heather has forced Farrell to change other parts of her life as well. According to the doctor, she was a somewhat lackadaisical student before her daughter came along. But after her birth, things changed.

"I simply had to do well, I had to pass my exams," Farrell said. "You see, you can take your exams in June, and then there are make-up exams in September. But I had to pass the first time so that I would have the summer free to spend with my daughter. And even now, I know that I have to do well because my career isn't just about me. I have to take care of someone else."

Farrell plans to combine her previous experience in paediatrics with her current rotation in psychiatry to become a paediatric psychiatrist. And though at that time she should be earning plenty of money to support her small family, right now money is still a problem.

"I have enough trouble meeting my rent, which is £750 a month," Farrell says. "And of course, I have to pay £250 for day care. But when the summer gets here, and she is not in school, it all gets much more expensive. The day care goes up to £400 a month.

"I know I should be saving money, thinking about the future. But there is just no way to do that right now. As soon as I make it, it's paying for essentials."

Still, even with all the difficulties along the way, Farrell is happy with her life choices. And though she believes that Heather should choose to do whatever she likes with her life, the doctor is a bit relieved to report that medicine does not interest her daughter in any way. Heather wants to be an artist.