Neurodiversity in anaesthesia

In this episode of Anaesthesia on Air Dr Sarah Muldoon, Consultant Neuroanaesthetist at King's College London and former RCoA Council Member, speaks to Dr Mary Doherty, Consultant Anaesthetist at Our Lady’s Hospital in Ireland, about her experience as a neurodivergent anaesthetist.

Mary talks about the sometimes surprising ways neurodiversity can benefit and inform clinical practice, and how anaesthetists can work better with their neurodivergent colleagues.

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(Recorded May 2023) 

Dr Sarah Muldoon
Consultant Neuroanaesthetist, King's College London

Dr Sarah Muldoon is a former RCoA Council member representing Anaesthetists in Training and is Deputy Chair of the Anaesthetists in Training Committee.

Having completed her training in the summer of 2020 she is now a Consultant Anaesthetist specialising in neuroanaesthesia at King’s College Hospital in South London.

Born and raised in the Ayrshire town of Kilmarnock, Sarah is a graduate of Glasgow Medical School. She moved to London in 2010 as an Emergency Medicine trainee, later switching to Core Anaesthetic Training.

Sarah trained in the South East London School of Anaesthesia, with the exception of an excellent 12-month fellowship north of the Thames at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery. Sarah's clinical interests are neuro, airway and paediatrics, and she enjoys teaching on a variety of courses, particularly for Novice Anaesthetists and the Resuscitation Council.

Dr Mary Doherty
Consultant Anaesthetist, Our Lady’s Hospital

Mary is an autistic Consultant Anaesthetist at Our Lady’s Hospital, Navan, Ireland, and mother of two neurodivergent young people. She is also a qualified ski instructor and has taught at the Ski Club of Ireland as well as abroad.  

Mary founded the peer support and advocacy organizations “Autistic Doctors International” and “Autistic Med Students,” and is a well-known speaker, trainer, and advocate for neurodiversity in medicine.  

A late entrant to academia, Mary is Honorary Clinical Research Fellow at Brighton & Sussex Medical School, and a PhD candidate at London South Bank University. Most of her publications and research interests relate to autism, particularly the healthcare experiences and outcomes for autistic adults as well as those of autistic medical students and doctors. Her doctoral research focuses on the experiences & perspectives of autistic psychiatrists.