n 1991, McBride attained a Research Fellowship at
St Mary's Hospital Medical School and
Imperial College London, where he conducted research into new drug treatments for
HIV. From 1994 to 2006 he worked as an HIV Consultant within the Genitourinary Medicine service at the Royal Group Hospitals Trust. He was appointed medical director of the Royal Group of Hospitals in August 2002. In September 2006, the
Department of Health appointed him as Northern Ireland's Chief Medical officer. He was appointed acting Permanent Secretary of the Department of Health and Chief Executive of NI Health and Social Care between March and August 2009 at the request of the then Minister. In November 2014, at the request of the then Health Minister, he was appointed as Chief Executive of
Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, serving until February 2017 while continuing in his role of Chief Medical Officer (CMO). One of the many issues he has had to deal with during his time as Chief Medical Officer is the
COVID-19 pandemic. == Honors and awards ==