Life in Her Hands: The Inspiring Story of a Pioneering Female Surgeon

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First British woman to be appointed a professor of surgery. President of the British Medical Association (2009-2010). a b Hanson, Michele (31 July 2002). "First lady of the theatre". The Guardian . Retrieved 8 October 2017. She was also honorary consultant in paediatric and vascular surgery at Great Ormond Street Hospital and founded the first training programme for women at the Royal College of Surgeons. Her motto throughout her career was “lift as you climb”. Born in 1937, Averil studied at Liverpool University’s School of Medicine and graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine in 1960. Averil began her career at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital before becoming a lecturer in surgery at the University. She later become consultant vascular surgeon at St Mary’s hospital in London.

Life in Her Hands - Penguin Books UK

She received little encouragement from her teachers, either, and is amused by the memory of one school report that said she was ‘no good at sewing’, given what an expert in suturing she became. A male visitor at St Mary’s was even more blunt, after asking Mansfield what job she did: “‘A woman cannot be a surgeon,’ he replied, and I said, ‘Well, I am,’ with a laugh. He said, ‘Then you must be very good.’” In 1991, Women in Surgical Training (Wist) was established by the RCS to encourage women into surgery and Mansfield was its founding chairwoman. "At that time we didn't have an organisation in this college that was dedicated to encouraging women, so we began it, to show that the career and the college are open to women. That message, 'You can do it, you are not going to meet antagonism,' might be the very thing women need to hear to encourage them to try it." In the past 10 years, the number of women consultant surgeons has almost doubled; the RCS hopes that by 2009, 20% of consultants will be women.Mansfield retired from surgery in 2002. [4] She was made a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians in 2005, and was elected president of the British Medical Association in 2009–2010. [1] In 2012 she was voted one of "100 Women Who Have Changed the World" by The Independent on Sunday. [1] Writing my book has been a novel and enjoyable experience. It has been wonderful to relive old memories and to recall the amazing patients, colleagues, friends and family who have been so influential and supportive throughout my life. When I was young the idea of a female surgeon was quite an unusual one, and I am delighted that so much has changed in that respect since the early days of my career. I hope that those who read my book will discover what it takes to become a surgeon, and that they will see that, along with the hard work and long hours, yes, there is also a sense of achievement and quite a lot of fun to be had too.” I think the most important thing for young surgeons to establish is whether this is the career they really want. It’s not easy – students don’t always have enough time in each specialty that they are exposed to and once you commit to a specialty, you’re in that job for 40 years plus. No matter how much we talk about hours of work and managing training, surgery is a very demanding branch of the profession – you cannot walk away in the middle of something, you have to see it through. It’s important to make sure this is what you really want for your life. Life in Her Hands is the remarkable story of a truly trailblazing woman. Averil's account shines light on a medical and societal world that has changed beyond measure, but which - as she shows through her experiences - still has a long way to go for the women finding their place within it.

Averil Mansfield: Britain’s trailblazing female surgeon Averil Mansfield: Britain’s trailblazing female surgeon

One outcome is the setting up of a working group, Parents in Surgery, to come up with ways to support surgeons with children, given the anti-social hours many are expected to work, as well as frequently being on call.

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Such a reaction was, sadly, very much in keeping with the general attitude – that women must choose between marriage and career – within the medical profession at the time. The second thing is to remain focused on that which is most important to you at every stage in your career, particularly if you take on something academic. There will be many demands on your time and it’s very easy to become distracted from what you’re supposed to be doing. But if you really want to do it, go for it. You can do it! Averil's account shines light on a medical and societal world that has changed beyond measure, but which - as she shows through her experiences - still has a long way to go for the women finding their place within it. The book, Life in Her Hands, details Averil’s trailblazing career, qualifying as a surgeon in 1972, a time when just two per cent of her colleagues were female.

Averil Mansfield | Waterstones Life in Her Hands by Averil Mansfield | Waterstones

At 5ft 10in, Mansfield was certainly an imposing figure in the operating theatre. She excelled at every stage, scoring top marks in her surgical exams. Averil Mansfield was an ambitious and talented young doctor when she announced, to a senior surgeon, her plan to marry her architect boyfriend.I would have liked children but I wasn’t able to with my first husband, so I just focused on the other things in my life,” says Mansfield. While she says she experienced little discrimination within her profession, patients would often react with surprise at discovering the gender of ‘Professor Mansfield’.