EMERGENCY: Season 3, Mondays, 8.45pm (AEST), Channel 9 and 9 Now
At a time when people have grown to greatly appreciate the dedication of frontline health workers, real-life medical program Emergency illustrates their devotion to duty even more.
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Irish born Dr Michael Dunne is part of the well-oiled machine that is the Emergency Department (ED) at Royal Melbourne Hospital.
His patients are extremely lucky he decided to move to Australia about six years ago.
"I wasn't really intending to leave home permanently, I just picked the furthest place in the world to come see what it was like," Dr Dunne says.
"It was a very fortunate move for me."
After a stint at a large regional hospital, Dr Dunne joined the Royal ED two years ago, just as he and his wife were welcoming their first child and COVID was rearing its ugly head.
"It was a challenge," he says, "but I felt more sorry for my wife. It was very tricky with the shifts, as it was for anyone having a child during COVID.
But, Dr Dunne says the experience prepared him well for the child he and his wife now have on the way.
"The biggest thing is not to bring the work home with you."
If you ever wondered whether medical dramas like ER and Night Shift resemble was really happens beyond the emergency department waiting room, Dr Dunne says they were pretty close to the mark.
"It's not too dissimilar in terms of the intensity and chaos. We look at it as a controlled sense of chaos. We get such an unusual mix of cases through the doors."
And yes, the word "quiet" is a definite no no on a slow shift.
"It's a forbidden word in our specialty. In the last few years we've had very little down time... it's been very hectic. So it is nice to catch up for coffee and a chat with colleagues if it isn't too busy."
During the height of the pandemic, Dr Dunne says if was "scary".
"Particularly before the vaccines came out. You were always conscious of not bringing it home to your family. I used to come home and not touch the family when I walked in the door. But it also brought people closer together.
"You really felt the distance when you couldn't get back home. It was quite prevalent in Ireland, particularly in the beginning, as it was harder for them to get access to vaccines. I was trying to give them advice, but different countries had different protocols."
He says health workers are quite used to wearing the personal protection equipment (PPE).
"PPE does drive us crazy. You wear a tight fitting mask for hours on end; I'd go whole shifts without drinking water, and you were terrified of touching your nose. It certainly added a layer of complexity to our already complex jobs."
Dr Dunne says the toughest part of the job is trying to see everyone in a timely manner.
"It's become extremely challenging in recent years. We try our hardest, but it is frustrating. We want people to get the same level of care as in pre-COVID.
"I make a point of following up on people [who come into emergency] I'm concerned about, or someone who was nervous in ED. If we have time, I go to see them personally, or call a colleague to check on them for me.
"It can be tough not to have the chance to follow through on some cases. It's nice when patients come back to tell us how they are doing... it lifts our spirits."
On being filmed while he is working on patients, Dr Dunne says it was strange at first.
"Initially it was strange, I was amazed at the number of patients willing to be filmed."
"This is season 3 so I was more comfortable and knew what to expect. If you are working on very sick patients, it's not overly distracting because you forget they [the cameras] are there.
"It's nice to be able to show people what happens in the ED and how everyone works together to help patients.
He says it's also good to be able to show his family, back in Ireland, what his job entails.
"She (his mother) is a typical Irish mum, she's very proud.
He did, however, cop a quite a bit of slagging from a few friends back home.
"The were asking me when I was going to quit medicine and start my TV career."
And what does he hope the TV audience take away from watching Emergency?
"I think part of it is curiosity. But the get to all the hard work that goes on behind the scenes and what it takes to keep the level of care up for patients.
"It shows them how doctors, nurses... everyone who works in the department, and the volunteers, come together to keep the doors open."