We unpacked International Women’s Day with some of Metro North Health’s brightest and most accomplished women, and this is what they told us

It’s 9am on a Monday morning and nurse Lauren is talking to a patient about a medication request while an alarm sounds in the background, signalling her need to go tend to someone’s injuries from a fight. It’s a standard morning at capacity, she tells us, reinforcing the diversity and fast-paced nature of Lauren’s nursing role in the Brisbane Watchhouse clinic caring for people in police custody.

She’s in a traditional role in a non-traditional setting and standing at just 5’3’ with a big smile and a palpable warmth, she’s not who you would expect to be treating people who are awaiting prison.

She tells me it’s an empowering job, and as the daughter of a social worker, shows me that you can be strong and command respect while being kind.

“I set the tone in my clinic, I am approachable and warm. I feel it is very empowering as a woman to work here with non-traditional patients, and over time I have learned how to build rapport quite quickly with people and being able to do that is a huge win for me,” she says.

“I feel even more accomplished when I can contribute to improved health outcomes for a vulnerable population.”

Ophthalmic Surgeon, Associate Professor of Medicine and Director of RBWH Ophthalmology Dr Sonia Yuen shares a similar sentiment to Lauren, that your heart must always be in your work.

She tells me the road to where she is today was not easy, giving birth in America as a medical intern and returning to her job just four weeks later.

“My husband was living in Australia and I was in America, so I would drop my son to a sitter in the morning and pick him up at the end of the day, I would cry on the way there and on the way the home – hard was an understatement,” Sonia says.

“A lot of women feel you have to choose between kids or a career, but you can have both and I do have both, and I want women to know they don’t have to give one or the other up, but what makes it work is if your heart is in it.

“I had no maternity leave when I had my son, and I worked up until my water broke and was back four weeks later – but if you do your job for the right reasons and you love it, you will make it work.”

Sonia has been at RBWH for over 20 years now, and while things have changed a lot and women can now take maternity leave and access far greater supports, her advice remains the same.

“You need to be happy in your job as it affects all aspects of your life, so give it your all, and you can have it all.”

Dr Sharon Kelly is the Director of Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) surgery and another familiar RBWH face, having seen the changes across the profession and at the hospital since 1992.

“When I started in surgery in the early 1990s, I was one of only three ENT female surgeons in Queensland,” Sharon says.

“That said, we were welcomed and supported, and these days the numbers for our profession are close to even.”

Sharon raised four children, working part-time throughout those early years, and now heads up a large and busy department where she mentors many doctors – with the advice to always put yourself forward.

“I want to see women be more confident, it’s easy to say you were overlooked but you will be if you don’t make it clear that you want it – there are plenty of opportunities for women in Queensland Health,” she says.

“If we want our patients to have equitable access to practitioners of different ages, genders and races, we need to make sure these people are spread evenly, and we need to ensure there is access for women in procedural specialties. So, I would say to these women, be ethical, skilful, a team player – and be confident and put yourself forward.”

Confidence comes with taking opportunities and being prepared to fail, says Dr Cath McDougall, who works both as an orthopaedic surgeon at The Prince Charles Hospital and Queensland Health’s Chief Medical Officer.

Cath, who started her career as a physiotherapist before moving into male-dominated orthopaedic surgery and then spent time as Acting Chief Health Officer, is no stranger to a challenge.

“It’s natural to not want to put yourself forward because you’re afraid of not achieving, but what’s key is that you learn from those experiences – there’s a lot of success in trying and not succeeding the first time,” she says.

“I want to see a future where every junior medical officer feels she can do any role in our system.

“I get a lot of satisfaction in mentoring, and one of our take-homes for International Women’s Day is to make sure we have opportunities for women – and for those women to think about what they aspire to be, and to get out there and take that opportunity.”