I remember the day, 25 years ago, a naive 19 year old telling my father, a general surgeon & fellow of The Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCSE), that I wanted to pursue a career in surgery. He advised me against it as it would be too difficult, not suited for women and suggested a non-surgical speciality. His words were not dissimilar to those of Prof Meirion Thomas in his article in the Daily Mail. The difference is that my father, now 78, has changed his views and moved with the times. Especially as I have made him proud on three occasions: the first, when I passed each of my FRCS exams at the first attempt; the second, when I received the Hunterian Professorship by the RCSE in 1999-2000; the third, when I was appointed as the first female consultant plastic surgeon at the world-famous Queen Victoria Hospital, East Grinstead- the home of Archibald Mcindoe & the guinea-pigs, and where the first Microvascular Toe-Thumb transfer by John Cobbett was carried out in 1969.
In my career so far, I have not been subject to any overt sexism or racism. If there has been anything covert, my in-built mechanism of being blind & deaf to it has certainly made me immune, as such issues are not of my making but is the burden that the perpetuator carries. As a woman, I have had to work harder, be supremely organised in both my work and home life, be diplomatic but hold my ground, just so I could be on par with my male peers in my early career. Now, with more women choosing a career in surgical specialities; colleagues of my generation feel that the gender of the surgeon is irrelevant, more important is surgical ability and insight. The response from the RCSE President has been heartening.
Striving for a work-life balance is not just something women want, as I do too; but so does each of my male colleagues of my generation where I work: we all want time to have a life outside of work, see our children grow up, rather than Daddy (or Mummy) be a sticker on the fridge. Life-work balance makes us well-rounded contributors to society, helps us to empathise with our patients and involve them in their care, rather than have the paternalistic & patronising personas of surgeons of my father's generation. Ours is a different generation, with different needs in an NHS that has undergone a radical culture change. Attitudes such as those Prof Meirion Thomas that breed intolerance of women in surgical specialities, should stay where they belong, in the last century.
I wholly concur with the view held by the Chief Executive of NHS Employers "Some people are women, get over it."
In my career so far, I have not been subject to any overt sexism or racism. If there has been anything covert, my in-built mechanism of being blind & deaf to it has certainly made me immune, as such issues are not of my making but is the burden that the perpetuator carries. As a woman, I have had to work harder, be supremely organised in both my work and home life, be diplomatic but hold my ground, just so I could be on par with my male peers in my early career. Now, with more women choosing a career in surgical specialities; colleagues of my generation feel that the gender of the surgeon is irrelevant, more important is surgical ability and insight. The response from the RCSE President has been heartening.
Striving for a work-life balance is not just something women want, as I do too; but so does each of my male colleagues of my generation where I work: we all want time to have a life outside of work, see our children grow up, rather than Daddy (or Mummy) be a sticker on the fridge. Life-work balance makes us well-rounded contributors to society, helps us to empathise with our patients and involve them in their care, rather than have the paternalistic & patronising personas of surgeons of my father's generation. Ours is a different generation, with different needs in an NHS that has undergone a radical culture change. Attitudes such as those Prof Meirion Thomas that breed intolerance of women in surgical specialities, should stay where they belong, in the last century.
I wholly concur with the view held by the Chief Executive of NHS Employers "Some people are women, get over it."
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