Interview
in prosthodontics. “I always felt I wanted to do something in more depth. I enjoyed prosthodontics and liked the way it was taught in the US. The chance came up to undertake joint prosthodontics training with a PhD and that was exactly what I wanted. I was interested in research, and to be able to combine it with something clinical seemed ideal. I packed my bags and headed for Rochester.” When that episode came to a natural end
in ı992 he subsequently joined the National Institute of Health at Bethesda, Maryland. For the next seven years he was involved in a variety of tasks and research. “I started in the heart, blood and lung institute learning to do gene transfer and then took that to the dental institute a year or two later. I had my own research lab and group – it was a terrifically stimulating environment in which to do research.” At that time, the difference between
post-graduate education in the US and Ireland/the UK was striking. “Here, though things were changing, it was very far from the way we view it now. There were a couple of places, including, I believe, Guy’s in London, offering a masters-type programme in what we recognise as specialty training. “The focus was mainly on working
your way up through the ranks from SHO (senior house officer) to registrar, senior registrar, and consultant. Training was done on the job and there was very
“There’s a feeling we are through the worst... I think people are ready to look forward rather than back. I, for one, am optimistic”
little formal education. The masters type of programmes being offered by that very small group of institutions operating on this side of the water had become the norm in the US after the war. The country had founded many of its training programmes in the period immediately before and after ı945. They had such a track record in well organised programmes with great content, and that was one of the things that appealed to me when I decided to make the move there.” He says he loved his time in the US and
it was a significant period in his life – he was married and became a father for the first time. The family moved to the Washington area when he took up his post in Bethesda, while his wife was able to work in nearby Baltimore.
“The way the National Institute of
Health was set up as a research institute you seemed to get most benefit over a five to seven year period. When the end of that time was approaching in ı999 we had three children and were thinking of leaving Washington,” he said. The initial idea was to move to another location in the US, but a call from Derry Shanley, Dean of Dublin at the time, changed things. “He asked if I’d be interested in coming here. I paid a visit and liked what I saw. The School was going in an exciting direction with a far-sighted educational programme, and there was a feeling that something new was being built. There was a great buzz about the place.”
Reorganised O’Connell took up a post as professor of restorative dentistry, and one of his first tasks was to reorganise the School’s postgraduate training. Working closely with colleagues, the existing programme was changed to become three-year specialist tuition. Prosthodontics was the first discipline to be treated this way, and others soon followed. At the same time, he maintained a
research group which initially continued doing the type of work he had been carrying out in the US. “However, things became more interesting locally,” he said. “A bone research group here in Trinity
Continued » Ireland’s Dental magazine 21
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56