It was my pleasure to attend the Medical Women’s Federation Spring Conference in Cambridge this year. I was luck to have been awarded the opportunity to present a poster detailing my work regarding an investigation into cervical cancer screening uptake at my GP surgery. It was a really fantastic day with the opportunity to speak and network with a variety of wonderful women.
It was inspiring to start the day with an address from the Duchess of Gloucester and to hear about her work with the Medical Women’s Federation over the years and her commitment to the work of the Federation. This was followed by two wonderful presentations by Dame Lesley Regan and Miss Samantha Tross. Miss Tross’ story was particularly inspiring to me as a Black heritage student, and I was shocked that she was the first Black orthopaedic consultant in the UK. Her talk reminded me of how far we still have to go regarding equality not only regarding gender, but also race, in the NHS. That being said, it was amazing to hear of the work each of these women have
done and how they have absolutely flourished in their careers. A standout moment from Dame Lesley’s talk was that even though women live longer than men, women spend longer in ill health than their male counterparts. This was upsetting and her talk highlighted areas within women’s health where there is room for improvement. The message I have taken away from this is how to implement health check-ins for women in my practice on placement and as a future doctor.
These talks were followed by a panel of women who were extremely frank and honest about their experiences as a woman, as a doctor, and as a mother. It was great to see women thriving in their careers whilst proudly being mothers and balancing other responsibilities. A massive benefit of the conference was being able to have many breaks that meant I could network with the women there, and I have taken away a number of emails to contact in the future for events for societies that I am on the committee for.
After lunch there were oral presentations showcasing the incredible work that women are doing across the country and the globe. I was particularly wowed by Dr Virji’s presentation which discussed the work that she and other doctors have done to provide medical education to individuals in countries in conflict to ensure that they can continue their education.
The day ended with a really engaging presentation from Dr Rachel Morris about leadership and burnout and how to avoid this in the NHS and beyond, followed by a moving talk from Dr Rosalind Ranson about the realities of whistleblowing and the many challenges that are facing the NHS currently. Overall, the day was extremely rewarding and allowed me to hear so many different perspectives, stories and I am so inspired by all of the work that the women who delivered talks and poster presentations are doing. I’m so glad I had the opportunity to attend, and I can’t wait to contact the women I met to develop myself personally and professionally in the future. Had I not received the Lady Estelle Wolfson Bursary, I would not have been able to attend so I am also very grateful for this.
- Aisia Lea, Medical Student and Recipient of the Estelle Wolfson Conference Bursary
