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. 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. We are thrilled to announce that Katie Fulford has sold world all language rights for Life in Her Hands, the “inspirational” memoir from Professor Averil Mansfield to Claire Collins, editor at Ebury Spotlight! Publication is scheduled for February 2023. An audiobook edition, narrated by the author, will be released simultaneously by Penguin Random House Audio. a b c d e f g h Barrett, Anne (2017). Women at Imperial College: Past, Present and Future. World Scientific. pp.173–180. ISBN 978-1-78634-264-5. The 'audience' of shipworkers delighted in telling me that there were rats the size of dogs down in the grain.

The Guardian First lady of the theatre | Education | The Guardian

Although we were producing lots of female medical students, we were not producing lots of female surgeons,” says Mansfield. After qualifying as a doctor in 1960, Averil trained as a general surgeon, and became a consultant in Liverpool in 1972, at a time when just 2% of surgeons were women. Reflecting on her remarkable career, she adds, “As surgeons we’re sometimes operating on people who are on the edge of life, and don’t always succeed in saving them, which is the very worst part of the job. But knowing I have helped save thousands of lives – I still receive letters from people who wouldn’t be here without the surgery I performed – is a very special feeling.”

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If you're coming to Coles by car, why not take advantage of the 2 hours free parking at Sainsbury's Pioneer Square - just follow the signs for Pioneer Square as you drive into Bicester and park in the multi-storey car park above the supermarket. Come down the travelators, exit Sainsbury's, turn right and follow the pedestrianised walkway to Crown Walk and turn right - and Coles will be right in front of you. You don't need to shop in Sainsbury's to get the free parking! Where to Find Us Money Matters Neurodiversity Preparing for University - Subject Reading Lists Reading For Pleasure Stationery I started the Women in Surgical Training initiative at the Royal College of Surgeons to encourage and support more women who wished to pursue the specialty. I was astonished at how many women turned up for the first meeting. It became obvious that, even at that stage, lots of women were thinking about becoming surgeons but were put off from actually doing it because they thought it just wasn’t possible. I’m pleased to see how far we’ve come now – it’s no longer cause for comment if you’re a surgeon who is a woman. Progress in the specialty

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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. Camilla was full of good humour and we spent time together in a studio afterwards, talking to TV channels, until she suddenly said: ‘I think I’d better go home now. We’ve got rather a busy week’. It was the week of Harry and Meghan’s wedding!” Mansfield’s gratitude to the supportive colleagues and superiors she encountered – first at Liverpool’s Broadgreen Hospital and later at Hillingdon Hospital and St Mary’s Paddington, in London – was magnified when she heard evidence given to the Royal College of Surgeons Working Party on discrimination in surgery in 2021. Dame Averil Olive Bradley DBE FRCS FRCP (née Mansfield; born 21 June 1937 [1]), known professionally as Averil Mansfield, is a retired English vascular surgeon. She was a consultant surgeon at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, central London, from 1982 to 2002, and in 1993 she became the first British woman to be appointed a professor of surgery.She founded Women in Surgery, a Royal College of Surgeons initiative to encourage more women to enter the field. [5] In May 2018, she was given a NHS Heroes Award. [5] Perhaps most exciting of all: I learned to play the cello! I’m a good pianist and have been for quite a part of my life but I’d always wanted to play in an orchestra, so I thought I’d take up the cello. I wouldn’t say I’m a cellist at all but I play it sufficiently well to enjoy it, to play with other people, and to play in an orchestra. I play with two amateur orchestras and they give me a great deal of pleasure. It’s a lovely thing to do at the age of 80! Advice for young surgeons a b Hanson, Michele (31 July 2002). "First lady of the theatre". The Guardian . Retrieved 8 October 2017. In 1991 Mansfield was invited to set up an organisation, through the Royal College of Surgeons, called Women in Surgical Training, which later became Women in Surgery, to ‘encourage, enable and inspire’ other females to follow her lead. First British woman to be appointed a professor of surgery. President of the British Medical Association (2009-2010).