New podcast explores what it takes to rise to the top as a woman in medicine

The podcast series, Medical Women Talking, is hosted by Professor Dame Jane Dacre (UCL Medical School) and features interviews with inspiring and successful women doctors from a range of specialties and backgrounds.

The idea for the podcast arose from “Emerging Women Leaders,” a course for female doctors set up by Professor Dacre and Deirdre Wallace (UCL School of Life & Medical Sciences). The course provides leadership training to help women in medicine further their careers and is about to start recruiting for its fifth year.

The first episode features Dame Clare Marx, a UCL Medical School graduate, who tragically passed away shortly after recording the podcast. In the episode Dame Clare describes her efforts to bring more women into surgery, on her way to becoming the first female President of the Royal College of Surgeons, the bullying she was subject to during her career and the allies – both male and female – who helped her to continue.

Among the other guests in the first season are Professor Dame Parveen Kumar DBE, sharing how she twice became a refugee in early life before settling in the UK and pursuing a distinguished career in the NHS and academia.

The podcast highlights gender issues that the guests experienced during their careers and are still prominent today. This includes the NHS’s 18% gender pay gap and career structures designed without women in mind, despite the fact that they make up 77% of the NHS workforce.

Professor Dame Jane Dacre said: “It has been fascinating to hear about the experiences of these women as they pursued their medical careers. It was particularly interesting to hear about the shared experiences. Everyone had bumps in the road, whether that was family issues or negative experiences in the workplace such as racism or sexism.

“But what all the guests had in common was a capacity to learn from failure and move on from disappointment, a love of what they do and a commitment to put in the work. These are all valuable lessons, and I hope the podcast will offer some useful advice for women whatever stage their career is at, in medicine and beyond.”

More information about each episode can be found on the UCL website and episodes can be streamed via Apple podcasts, Spotify, Soundcloud, Amazon Music or other podcast apps. 

Links 

• Professor Dame Jane Dacre's academic profile
• UCL Medical School
• UCL Faculty of Medical Sciences

Media contact 

Dr Matt Midgley

E: m.midgley [at] ucl.ac.uk