As the first female orthopaedic surgeon in Sierra Leone, Marcella Ryan-Coker is working to build a trauma care system where access to treatment is not determined by a patient’s ability to pay.
It was while studying for a Master’s in Global Health and Development at UCL that Marcella began to develop her powers of advocacy and connect with a global surgery community, an experience she describes as one of the most defining of her life.
When her supervisor encouraged her to publish her dissertation on the economic burden of road accidents in Sub-Saharan Africa, it marked the beginning of a new career path, combining clinical medicine with research and advocacy.
Being at UCL, surrounded by people from diverse backgrounds, sharing ideas, challenging the status quo, and thinking about how we can come up with solutions, made me realise that my voice is valued.
Moving to Nairobi for her residency, Marcella also completed a fellowship with the Royal College of Surgeons of England as a Humanitarian Surgery Research Fellow. She continues to publish on topics, ranging from trauma care in Africa and defining humanitarian surgery, to gender‑based barriers in surgical careers and bullying in medical school, an issue she experienced herself in Sierra Leone. She has advocated for women in surgery and women in orthopaedics, and she mentors too.
I had no one fighting for me. Now, I’m in a position where I can be that voice for others, I can amplify their struggles and concerns.
Marcella was aware growing up that the health system in Sierra Leone struggled, but its fragility became undeniable during the Ebola outbreak. Years later, during COVID, she experienced those challenges firsthand, working as a doctor for an NGO, while many colleagues worked without adequate PPE, creating additional fear and worry.
Equity and representation run through everything Marcella does. She is determined to instigate changes in Sierra Leone to improve surgical care and create better systems for both patients and the women who will follow her into the field.
“On the tough days”, she says, “it’s the small wins that keep me going - a patient who recovers, a child who survives.”
She believes universities like UCL can play a role too.
I would really love to see UCL build deeper, more equitable partnerships with low- and middle-income countries, not just as sites of study, but as equal contributors to knowledge and innovation.
Explore further
- Marcella Ryan Coker, Scrubs, Scalpels and High Heels
