Mary Hickey, Process improvement manager at Adelaide and Meath Hospital, Dublin Incorporating the National Children's Hospital.
Personal/family: Single with two brothers, one sister and a very energetic octogenarian mother.
What figure from the world of medicine or health do you most admire?
I meet many health professions during my daily work who I have the highest admiration for because of their total commitment and sensitivity to the patients they care for, but on a national level I admire Dr Noel Browne for his great contribution to the Irish health service and John O'Shea, founder of Goal and humanitarian campaigner.
What other career might you have chosen?
I would like to have been a travel writer or teacher.
If you could grant three wishes for the health service, what would they be?
I would see that there is access to care for everybody who needs it, ensure there is consistently high quality care regardless of hospital location or size and improve community services.
What is your greatest fear?
Heights.
Have you ever been a patient and were you a good one?
My only experience as a patient was when I had my appendix removed during my Leaving Cert year. All I can remember is wanting to get home as soon as possible.
When or where are you happiest?
Travelling to new places, walking in the woods in Wicklow or at extended family gatherings.
How do you cope with stress?
I visit a spa, have a massage or just have some "me" time.
What is the trait you most admire in yourself?
My inquisitiveness and the drive, passion and commitment I bring to my work.
What is the trait you most dislike in yourself?
My shyness. I am hopeless with strangers.
Do you use alternative or complementary medicine or therapies?
Yes, aromatherapy and homeopathic remedies.
Who or what makes you laugh?
Offbeat humour and old black and white movies.
What is your motto?
I am always learning.
What books would you bring to a desert island?
Paul Coelho's The Alchemist, John O'Donoghue's Eternal Echoes, Seamus Heaney's The Redress of Poetry and if I owned an iPod, a collection of classical music.