Consultant Surgeon Elena Theophilidou on Career Success and Gender Perceptions

Elena Theophilidou, who grew up in Cyprus, described feeling distinct from other girls due to her interests in mathematics and biology and her preference for trousers over skirts. A family tragedy, however, significantly influenced her decision to pursue medicine. She states, “My parents lost their first child because he had Down’s syndrome, so he died when he was about four years old,” adding, “And I guess that’s always been playing on my mind.” Currently serving as a consultant surgeon at one of England’s busiest major trauma units, Elena Theophilidou has discussed her accomplished career and the obstacles encountered as a female physician, such as occasionally needing to inform patients that “I am the surgeon”. Elena humorously recalls, “I think the first time I carried a bag with me was when I was 20, when I actually came to university,” explaining, “I wasn’t your typical girl, as you would imagine them to be.” While biology just “made sense” to her and she excelled in maths, she initially questioned, “what am I going to do with numbers?” Despite acknowledging it might sound like a cliché, she states that the desire to assist others guided her towards a medical career. She asserts, “I still don’t think of it as a nine-to-five job. Because it isn’t really. As a consultant, I’ve never thought, ‘can’t be bothered with work today’,” she says. Raised in a Greek family, the passing of her brother was not discussed “extensively.” She explains, “I sort of grew up with it because he died before I was born, so I never met him,” adding, “But it was always something that was in the background.” She notes, “It was quite devastating for my parents. But I think maybe that triggered the idea of medicine.” Elena’s journey to becoming a surgeon within an emergency department was marked by considerable difficulty. During her teenage years, she aspired to study medicine in the UK. She recounts, “I had to do [the A-levels] in my own spare time, and obviously coming from a foreign country to the UK, you had to have top marks to even be considered for medicine,” concluding, “So it was a tough four or five years before even coming to medical school.” At 18, she relocated to London to commence her medical studies, eventually gaining the chance to specialise in surgery. She states, “Unfortunately, my surgical placements were all with, let’s say, school surgeons who would have different mentalities to what we have today,” and further notes encountering “unprofessional behaviours, in terms of bullying and toxic environments.” She observes, “I guess we’re quite lucky in this day and age that things have changed in terms of professional contact and how people should be behaving, and especially when it comes to treating patients and colleagues.” She adds, “I know I’ve had a lot of difficulties that probably if I wasn’t a woman I wouldn’t have had, and I’m sure quite a lot of trainees, especially female trainees, would agree with this statement.” Despite these past challenges, Elena expresses significant commendation for her colleagues at the Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham. She remarks, “We are quite lucky in the East Midlands because we are one of the deaneries that have quite a lot of female trainees, and especially female consultants in surgery, who I’ve had as role models.” Elena’s primary role involves working with the major trauma team, alongside her involvement with the team addressing patients with acute surgical conditions. She elaborates on the consultant’s role, stating, “When you’re a consultant, you have a position of responsibility in terms of not only towards your patient, but also towards the team that you have with you,”. Elena states she has not encountered misogyny from patients but acknowledges occasionally needing to “remind them that I am the surgeon.” She explains, “Sometimes they don’t see me as a surgeon walking into the room. So that’s something that I’ve experienced quite early on,” adding, “I think people have a stereotypical image of surgeons in their head. It’s more like a ‘grown-up man’ who walks into the room.” She reiterates, “I’ve never experienced misogyny, but maybe just having to remind people from time to time that I perform their operation.” Elena notes that the medical field is evolving, with “more education is out there.” She shares, “In the last year, I’ve had a couple of female medical students coming to me and say ‘oh, I didn’t know you could be a female consultant surgeon’,” she says. Elena stresses the significance of young students observing women who have pursued surgery as a career and viewing them as role models. Elena openly acknowledges that being a woman has, at times, felt like a disadvantage. During her youth in Cyprus, she recalls hearing remarks such as, “oh you’re a woman, if you become a surgeon or a doctor you won’t have time for your family, you won’t have a family”. She advises, “Those ideas are at the back of your head. But if this is what you want to do, you just go ahead and do it,” adding, “Find what you love doing day to day, because your career is a long time, and it takes a lot – probably like 20, 30 years of your life. So it’s important to do what you enjoy and then just go for it.” For further updates, follow BBC Nottingham on Facebook, X, or Instagram. Story ideas can be submitted to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk or via WhatsApp at 0808 100 2210. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Details on our approach to external linking are available.