Alice Joyce is health screening co-ordinator for the Executive Health Screening Programme at the Bon Secours Hospital, Cork
I start work at 8am and finish at around 4pm. I've been working as the registered general nurse (RGN) in the health screening unit since it was established at the Bon Secours in November 2002 and it has really gained great momentum.
On a day-to-day basis I manage the unit. It's quite small at the moment with only myself, the general practitioner, Dr Julie Coyle, and Michelle Caples, the clerical officer.
The service is available to anyone once they are referred to us by their GP but we mainly deal with corporate clients. Large companies pay for their employees to be screened. These companies can avoid sick days by sending their employees to us.
The screening is very thorough and takes up to three hours. Some patients are very apprehensive and scared when they come to us initially but it's all very easy-going and they leave quite relaxed.
We test for every type of illness and take a comprehensive medical history of each client. We do blood tests for liver function, cholesterol, kidney function, gout and anaemia. We also screen men for prostate cancer and women for cervical cancer with a smear test. Women can also have breast screening as an optional extra. We deal with everyone on an individual basis.
We carry out an electro-cardio graph to test the heart and take chest X-rays to check the lungs for cancer. We also perform colour blindness tests and examine lung function and analyse faeces to test for colon cancer and we analyse the bones for osteoporosis.
Once all the testing is carried out, we can then send the results in confidence to the client within seven days. It's a terrific way to identify illness early and help reduce health risks because early identification means early treatment.
Generally, clients are healthy and they leave us with a great feeling and a buzz about their health, which makes for a very rewarding job.
(In interview with Patricia Weston)