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

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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.” Her parents spent years trying to deter their headstrong daughter from pursuing an ambition sparked at the age of eight as she thumbed through medical books in her local library. Just 2% of surgeons in the UK were women when Mansfield qualified in the early Seventies. By the Nineties, when 97% of surgeons were male, not much had changed. I suppose what I always wanted was to reach the point where it was perfectly normal and unremarkable for surgeons to be female, and I believe at last, we are well on the way to achieving that.” It's jolly hard work, let's be honest about it. The commitment is quite a major one. But it's the commitment that makes it enjoyable. If I operate on a patient and it's scheduled to last an hour and it lasts for four, there's nothing I can do about that. I have to see it through to the end. To me the professional satisfaction has been caring for somebody, as far as is humanly possible, right through their illness."

Averil Mansfield books and biography | Waterstones

Professor Averil Mansfield spent over 20 years as a vascular surgeon at St Mary’s Hospital. In 1993, she became the first female professor of surgery in the UK and used her profile to encourage more women to join the profession. She served on the council of the Royal College of Surgeons and later as its vice president. She also served as president of the Vascular Surgical Society and the Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland and, in 1999 was awarded a CBE for services to surgery and women in medicine. In May 2018, she was given an NHS Heroes Award. Professor Mansfield talks to us about her career highlights, being a role model and how her specialty has changed over the years. 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.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.’” 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’s book will be published today, Thursday 23 February, by Ebury Publishing. You can find out more here Could women be more sensitive to certain procedures - gynaecological ones, perhaps? "Gynaecologists of both sexes understand the problems very well. I don't think there's any difference between the approach. It's what appeals to you as a patient. Some would definitely prefer to go to a man, some to a woman. The important thing is to let them have choice."

Trust blog - Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust

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. Mansfield’s reputation was such that Estée Lauder and John Mortimer, of Rumpole of the Bailey fame, were among her celebrity patients. She had the honour of being a guest on Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs in 2020, which led to her being asked to write her new autobiography, Life In Her Hands. After a formidable operating career in Liverpool and London, during which she made many enduring friendships, she went on to became the UK's first ever female professor of surgery. Life in Her Hands is the remarkable story of a truly trailblazing woman. First British woman to be appointed a professor of surgery. President of the British Medical Association (2009-2010). Averil Mansfield was an ambitious and talented young doctor when she announced, to a senior surgeon, her plan to marry her architect boyfriend.

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