Royal Surrey surgeon in national exhibition | News

Julie Kohls is one of 31 women consultants at Royal Surrey and is currently featured in a new exhibition at the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS).  Nationally, although there are now more female doctors than male, Julie is one of only 17% of consultant surgeons who are women.  The exhibition ‘Portraits of Women in Surgery’ celebrates a representative group of these women and while exploring the motivations that have driven them to pursue surgical careers it also highlights the continuing inequalities within the profession.

All the featured surgeons are members of the Women in Surgery Network which is an initiative hoping to encourage more women into surgery.  The photo portraits are set in environments reflective of their work and like many of them, Julie’s portrait was captured by in-house medical photography departments; credit in our case to Royal Surrey’s Medical Illustration Manager Ashley Prytherch.

The exhibition is being put on at the Royal College’s Hunterian Museum and Alice Watkinson-Deane is the Curator:

“These portraits offer a glimpse into a world of quiet operating theatres and busy on-calls, helping us to better understand what it is like to be a surgeon working in the UK today.  We hope the exhibition serves to inspire young women to work in surgery by seeing the range of motivations and experiences of our contributors.”

Julie who is an orthopaedic surgeon at Royal Surrey specialising in foot and ankle surgery, says it was a chance opportunity which inspired her to become a surgeon:

“I had an orthopaedic research role in between my first and second years of medical school. I volunteered to assist a newly appointed consultant and had the extraordinary experience of being taught as if I was already a surgical trainee. I loved the surgery, the teams, and the difference orthopaedic surgery made to patients and that mentorship gave me the confidence to pursue a surgical career.”

Julie is a Foundation Program Director at Royal Surrey Hospital and works to encourage future surgeons. She finds it especially rewarding to mentor young women who are pursuing a career in surgery.

“The percentage of female orthopaedic surgeons continues to be in single figures and mentorship is what I really believe is needed to help more women to choose the career.   I’m thrilled to be taking part in the exhibition, I hope all our portraits will have an impact and help motivate upcoming generations of aspiring female surgeons.”

The exhibition runs until 18 April, Wednesdays to Saturdays, 10am-5pm at the Hunterian Museum, Royal College of Surgeons of England, 38-43 Lincolns Inn Fields, London.