International Women's Day 2024 - Women In Medicine International Network
RCoA Councilmember Dr Ramai Santhirapala meets Drs Kate Stannard and Helen Burdett to discuss the Women in Medicine International Network (WIMIN).
WIMIN was founded to address, as they put it, the 'huge gap in the needs of women in medicine' with a conference programme and network. Helen and Kate talk about the issues they are trying to tackle, the conference programme they've created, speakers at their upcoming September 2024 event, and how they try to inspire inclusion through this work.
This podcast is released on International Women's Day 2024, the theme of which is #InspireInclusion.
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(Recorded 1 March 2024)
Kate qualified from Guy’s & St Thomas’ Medical School, London in 1995. She has pursued a career in anaesthesia during which she had a research & clinical lecturer’s post at Royal Perth Hospital, Western Australia.
In 2005 she took up a consultant post at Tunbridge Wells Hospital, where she met Helen. They have both been involved in medical education, running a regional exam course for Primary FRCA, as College Tutors and more recently they have been appointed by the Royal College of Anaesthetists as FRCA examiners. In addition Kate is a Lead Clinical Supervisor in the new Kent & Medway Medical School. Kate is a general DGH anaesthetist with an interest in high risk orthopaedic surgery, paediatric ENT surgery & pre operative assessment clinics involving optimisation of patients embarking on surgery.
Helen went to Bristol Medical School and qualified in 1992. She trained initially as a paediatrician in Bristol which is where she found that anaesthesia was where her interests lay whilst working in PICU. She trained in anaesthesia in the South West of England and did one year at GOSH for advanced training in paediatric anaesthesia. She has worked as a Consultant Anaesthetist since 2003 and has a special interest in paediatric anaesthesia - mainly high risk orthopaedics and ENT. She also has sub speciality interests in adult orthopaedic surgery and bariatric surgery.
She started up and runs a high risk anaesthetic clinic for children with complex problems or complex surgery and this has allowed families to have their child's operation locally rather than having to travel to tertiary centres whenever suitable.
Helen was College Tutor for six years and started a primary FRCA course with Kate with priority to anaesthetic trainees in the region.
Helen was an expert advisor for the MHRA for seven years on the paediatric expert advisory group and subsequently on the opioid expert advisory group. She has been a final FRCA examiner since 2020.
Dr Ramai Santhirapala qualified from University College London (UCL), and undertook her dual certified UK training in Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine in East Anglia and London. She was appointed as a Consultant Anaesthetist and Perioperative Medicine Lead at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust in 2018, alongside an Honorary Associate Professor at UCL.
During her time as an anaesthetist, Ramai has published on novel devices, perioperative care and shared decision making. She has worked closely with the College since 2015 through her role at the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges. She has a keen interest in ensuring healthcare decisions are made in partnership with patients (‘no decision about me, without me’) and has represented anaesthesia at the national and international level within this remit.
Ramai joined the College as a Council member during the COVID-19 pandemic. She is a firm advocate of putting workforce wellbeing at the heart of high quality patient care. As someone who remains rooted in Sri Lankan culture, Ramai believes an inclusive and diverse workforce brings opportunities, fresh perspectives and creative solutions.
Outside medicine, Ramai is a keen writer and is a correspondent for the international magazine Hinduism Today and is an occasional blogger. She enjoys yoga, hiking and is an amateur veena player.