Member profile: Dr Irene Braithwaite

1. Tell us a little about yourself and your professional journey so far.

I started my professional life as a musician and then worked in the oil industry for 10 years! I only went to medical school in my 30s, graduating in 2006.  I worked in psychiatry for a while as an SHO, then as a medical registrar, and then spent 11 years in research running clinical trials and completing a PhD in Deep Vein Thrombosis. I joined the Psychiatry Training Programme just over 2 years ago.

 2. You have had an impressive career in medical research and have contributed to numerous publications. Is there one particular publication or research project that stands out to you the most?

I think the project I am most proud of is still underway. It is the PIPPA Tamariki Study, an RCT of Paracetamol versus Ibuprofen for pain and fever in infancy, and asthma related outcomes at the age of 6 years old. We recruited just under 4,000 New Zealand babies and the team is working through the one-year results of the study.

3. What made you want to pursue a career in Psychiatry?

Believe it or not, I was working on a phase one clinical trial where clients with asthma stayed with us 24/7 for 17 days. Needless to say, you soon run out of asthma-related things to talk about! It reminded me of how important it is to work with a whole person and to be able to have conversations about all of a persons’ life and experiences – I guess it relit my love for psychiatry as a discipline.

4. At our recent New Zealand Conference debate, you argued quite convincingly and humorously for the affirmative on the topic of Who needs consultants? Registrars do all the work! How did you get roped into that and what was your experience like?

It was a nasty accident – we will never speak of this again!

5. We hear that you are a power lifter in your spare time! How long have you been doing that and what other things do you enjoy outside of work?

When I was pursuing my medical degree, I started body building and did that for about 10 years. As I’ve got older, I sadly have to admit, I have had to slow down a bit. So power lifting it is! It is a very mindful process.
What else do I do? In no particular order, I have two dogs that need walking and training, a 5-year old grandchild, I do some boxing, a 10,000-piece jigsaw puzzle that is some eight years into construction, a very attractive gin collection that I admire ever so often, and some psych exams to prepare for…!


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