In high school my dream job was to be a singer and I’ve never thought I would be able to study hard. So I’ve studied music, French, Drama. My year ten maths teacher even told my parents that I would never be a doctor or a lawyer because I was rubbish at maths. I actually wanted to go for an “arts” degree but my Dad insisted that I should get a ‘real degree’. I thought about business but, when he asked me what I would do if I could do anything without thinking about what it would take, I told him I wanted to be a Doctor. I then set out working out how to get into medicine without the ‘right’ subjects from high school.
I did Exercise Physiology as an undergrad and then got into med school.
2. When did you decide you wanted to become a surgeon?
…show more content…
I’m often mistaken for a nurse, a physio, a device rep... Sometimes patients think the academic assisting is the doctor instead of me. Unfortunately gender is an issue during a career and surgery is still a man’s world. Women have to work twice to gain the same respect and female trainee surgeons are prone to bullying and harassment.
Once, a male cardiologist approached me and said ‘Are they letting girls do cardiothoracic surgery now?’ For him, that was just hilarious but I just couldn’t take it as joke. Now, I have more patience for that kind of thing.
Being a bit of a feminist, I decided to stand out and encourage other women. Women have the same limitations as men and can be whatever they choose. So when the campaign “this is what we look like” started, I got on board very early. Women started to post hashtags such as #ILookLikeanEngineer, #ILookLikeaDrummer or whatever profession you can think of. And when #ILookLikeaSurgeon started to go viral, I saw a great opportunity to extend the movement reinforcing that women are, indeed,
…show more content…
It’s about time to change perceptions and encourage women to such an amazing profession.
The #ILookLikeASurgeon and #ThisIsWhatWeLookLike campaigns are shattering stereotypes and providing inspiration all around the world.
6. Can you describe a normal day in your life? How do you cope with personal life and your busy schedule?
My day starts really early. I wake up at 5am to go to the gym or run, and by 7pm I’m already at the Hospital, starting with ward rounds. It’s a way to compensate my poor diet because most days I don’t have time to eat (I’m very intimate with the vending machine) and it’s also a way to stay fit enough to endure hours standing up during surgery. Usually I get to the theater by 8 and perform 2 or 3 operations a day. In a good day I leave the hospital by 6-7pm but sometimes I can stay until late hours. We are on call every few days.
I – Do you have kids?
I don’t have kids, by choice. My husband is an Emergencist and also works a lot. I can barely take care of my self so I wouldn’t be able to provide the attention a child needs. But that was my choice. I’m not saying female surgeons can’t have kids, but I ended up with different priorities. Sometimes that’s hard to tell people that come with preconceptions. They think women are wives and mothers first and then they can be something