Only 10% of consultant surgeons are women, but the workforce is changing with more female trainees As a surgical trainee in a hospital, my working day typically starts at 7.30am with a ward round of inpatients. We may have an elective theatre list – where we operate on patients having a planned operation to remove cancer of the bowel, for ex ample – or a multi-disciplinary meeting where we discuss a patient’s management plan. If I’m on emergency cover, I will manage and investigate patients who are unwell and will operate in the emergency theatre. This may include patients who have been admitted to A&E needing an emergency operation to remove their appendix, or to repair a perforated bowel, or dealing with a patient who has trauma injuries caused by a car accident. Although I am eight years into my training to become a general surgeon, with an interest in colorectal surgery, I am in the second year of a research fellowship. So my working week is split between the laboratory at Cardiff University, clinics at the wound healing unit at the university hospital and a day devoted to the Association of Surgeons in Training, of which I am president. The association is at the forefront of any potential changes that may negatively affect surgical training and therefore patient safety. It’s my job to get the consensus view of trainee surgeons on such issues, take a suggested solution forward and represent them at various professional meetings with the surgical Royal Colleges, Joint Committee on Surgical Training, British Medical Association and others. When I am working in the laboratory, I will be in at around 8am and spend the day carrying out experiments. As part of my fellowship, I am investigating how a particular gene may affect the prognosis of both colorectal cancer and wound healing. When I finish work, usually at 6 or 7pm, I drive back to my house in Cardiff, cook dinner and unwind with a glass of wine. Then it’s off to bed. However, if I’m on call, I’ll usually skip dinner because I won’t get home until 9pm or 10pm. I work about one weekend, and a set of three or four night shifts a month, so my working weeks are varied. Everyone has different reasons for their career choice – mine can be traced back to the operating theatre. I went to a comprehensive school in Chepstow, South Wales, and had an interest in science. So I decided to do work experience at the local hospital and was amazed by surgery. A seriously ill patient underwent an operation to repair a ruptured swelling of a blood vessel (abdominal aneurysm) and hours later, they were smiling at me. Surgery, it seemed, had the power to quickly have an impact on a patient’s wellbeing and it was exciting. Seven years later, while at medical school, I was on placement with Ian Daniels, a consultant colorectal (or bowel) surgeon in Exeter. He shaped my career more than anything; he was fantastic to work with and so encouraging. My ambition is to be a consultant colorectal surgeon. They treat patients with cancer or inflammatory bowel disease and there is a good mix of patients who are reasonably fit and healthy to those who are very sick. In a typical day, a colorectal surgeon may see patients ranging from children up to people in their 90s. Of course the job of being a surgeon doesn’t come without sacrifices. It requires a huge amount of work and determination. It’s a privilege that patients trust you when they are at their most vulnerable and it is extremely rewarding to be able to make a difference to them. As a woman, one of the challenges I face is that some patients presume I am a secretary (despite me wearing scrubs). One even asked me to pass on their gratitude for the operation to the surgeon. Only 10% of consultant surgeons are women, but the workforce is changing: 30% of surgical trainees are women. As we encourage more women to join surgery, I hope we will eradicate some of the perceptions that patients may hold of a stereotypical surgeon. It helps to have Clare Marx as president of the Royal College of Surgeons and other women in visible, senior leadership positions. The one piece of advice I would give trainee surgeons is to seize every opportunity you can to gain different experiences. If it’s a quiet day, go into the operating theatre and observe an operation, or undertake a project to build your CV. When you start your core surgical training, completing it feels a long way off, but it will fly by. So enjoy and embrace every challenge that comes your way. Source
