New Women in Surgery Chair elected

We are pleased to announce that Felicity Meyer, Consultant Vascular Surgeon based in Norfolk, has been elected as the next Women in Surgery (WinS) Chair at RCS England. Women in Surgery has been a national initiative of RCS England since 1991, dedicated to encouraging, enabling and inspiring women to fulfil their surgical career ambitions.

This was the first-ever election for the WinS Chair, which allowed eligible Women in Surgery members to choose who will represent them on Council as an invited member. Felicity will take office in September 2024. Thank you to all of the eight talented candidates who put themselves forward for the role.

The current WinS Chair, Tamzin Cuming, will step down in September following a successful three-year term which saw a number of important initiatives under her leadership, including a partnership between the Working Party on Sexual Misconduct in Surgery (WPSMS) and RCS England to tackle sexual misconduct in all forms. Tamzin’s work representing WinS and speaking on sexual misconduct in surgery to government, in the media and across College platforms, has raised the profile of the scale of the issue in the NHS and highlighted how the College and WPSMS are working to eradicate it. Her tenure also included a vibrant WinS Conference and International Women’s Day events hosted at the College, a packed WinS theatre at the Future Surgery Show, and progress on our work to increase mentorship opportunities for underrepresented groups in surgery and widening access to surgical careers through outreach to schools.

Commenting on her appointment, Felicity said:

“I am absolutely thrilled and humbled to be the first elected chair of Women in Surgery. I am looking forward to the challenges ahead but Tamzin Cuming leaves very big shoes to fill! I would like to thank her for all her hard work and support, especially around sexual safety, which has brought about wholesale change throughout the NHS.”

Felicity Meyer went to comprehensive school in Guildford and studied Medicine at Corpus Christi College, Oxford. She completed her vascular surgical training in the South East Thames region and was appointed as a consultant at Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital in 2003. She is now Deputy Medical Director at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, King’s Lynn. She has been a member of WinS since its inception and, more recently, has been the RCS England Flexible Working Advisor and joint Deputy Chair of the WinS Forum. She is passionate about teaching and training and is an Honorary Senior Lecturer at the University of East Anglia. She has three adult children and, in 2022, undertook a sabbatical to complete a unique 900+ mile walk across the UK. Follow Felicity on X for updates.

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