'I've had to remind patients I'm the surgeon' - life as a female doctor

Growing up successful Cyprus, Elena felt she was antithetic to different girls - she liked maths, biology, and preferred wearing trousers alternatively than skirts.

But it was a household calamity which helped signifier her determination to survey medicine.

"My parents mislaid their archetypal kid due to the fact that helium had Down's syndrome, truthful helium died erstwhile helium was astir 4 years old," she says. "And I conjecture that's ever been playing connected my mind."

Now a advisor surgeon astatine 1 of the busiest large trauma units successful England, Elena Theophilidou has spoken of her palmy career, arsenic good arsenic the challenges she has faced arsenic a pistillate doc - including sometimes having to punctual patients that "I americium the surgeon".

"I deliberation the archetypal clip I carried a container with maine was erstwhile I was 20, erstwhile I really came to university," says Elena with a chuckle.

"I wasn't your emblematic girl, arsenic you would ideate them to be."

Biology conscionable "made sense", and maths was thing she was bully at. But Elena started wondering "what americium I going to bash with numbers?"

She says that, though it sounds similar a cliché, the thought of being capable to assistance others led her to choosing medicine.

"I inactive don't deliberation of it arsenic a nine-to-five job. Because it isn't really. As a consultant, I've ne'er thought, 'can't beryllium bothered with enactment today'," she says.

She grew up successful a Greek family, successful which the decease of her member was thing they ne'er talked astir "extensively".

"I benignant of grew up with it due to the fact that helium died earlier I was born, truthful I ne'er met him," she says. "But it was ever thing that was successful the background.

"It was rather devastating for my parents. But I deliberation possibly that triggered the thought of medicine."

Elena's way to becoming a surgeon successful an exigency section was not an casual one.

As a teenager, she acceptable her sights connected studying medicine successful the UK.

"I had to bash [the A-levels] successful my ain spare time, and evidently coming from a overseas state to the UK, you had to person apical marks to adjacent beryllium considered for medicine," she says.

"So it was a pugnacious 4 oregon 5 years earlier adjacent coming to aesculapian school."

Aged 18, she moved to London and began studying to beryllium a doctor. Eventually, came the accidental to specialise successful surgery.

"Unfortunately, my surgical placements were each with, let's say, schoolhouse surgeons who would person antithetic mentalities to what we person today," she says.

She says she faced "unprofessional behaviours, successful presumption of bullying and toxic environments".

"I conjecture we're rather fortunate successful this time and property that things person changed successful presumption of nonrecreational interaction and however radical should beryllium behaving, and particularly erstwhile it comes to treating patients and colleagues," she says.

"I cognize I've had a batch of difficulties that astir apt if I wasn't a pistillate I wouldn't person had, and I'm definite rather a batch of trainees, particularly pistillate trainees, would hold with this statement."

Elena, however, has precocious praise for her colleagues astatine the Queen's Medical Centre successful Nottingham.

"We are rather fortunate successful the East Midlands due to the fact that we are 1 of the deaneries that person rather a batch of pistillate trainees, and particularly pistillate consultants successful surgery, who I've had arsenic relation models," she says.

Elena's main occupation is moving with the large trauma team, but is besides progressive with the squad that deals with patients that person acute surgical issues.

"When you're a consultant, you person a presumption of work successful presumption of not lone towards your patient, but besides towards the squad that you person with you," she says.

Elena says she has ne'er experienced misogyny from patients - but admits she sometimes has to "remind them that I americium the surgeon".

"Sometimes they don't spot maine arsenic a surgeon walking into the room. So that's thing that I've experienced rather aboriginal on," she says.

"I deliberation radical person a stereotypical representation of surgeons successful their head. It's much similar a 'grown-up man' who walks into the room.

"I've ne'er experienced misogyny, but possibly conscionable having to punctual radical from clip to clip that I execute their operation."

But things and times are changing successful medicine, says Elena, and "more acquisition is retired there".

"In the past year, I've had a mates of pistillate aesculapian students coming to maine and accidental 'oh, I didn't cognize you could beryllium a pistillate advisor surgeon'," she says.

But Elena says it is important for young students to spot women who took country connected arsenic a career, and look astatine them arsenic relation models.

Elena does not shy distant from the information that being a pistillate has sometimes felt similar a disadvantage.

As a youngster successful Cyprus, she says she would perceive phrases similar "oh you're a woman, if you go a surgeon oregon a doc you won't person clip for your family, you won't person a family".

"Those ideas are astatine the backmost of your head. But if this is what you privation to do, you conscionable spell up and bash it," she says.

"Find what you emotion doing time to day, due to the fact that your vocation is simply a agelong time, and it takes a batch - astir apt similar 20, 30 years of your life. So it's important to bash what you bask and past conscionable spell for it."