Smooth operators lead way
Far North mum and daughter surgeons in an Australian first
AUSTRALIA’S only mum and daughter surgeons are Queenslanders.
And with women making up less than 15 per cent of fellows at the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, Roxanne Wu and Helen Buschel have not only smashed the glass ceiling but are trailblazers for young female medics.
Dr Wu is a vascular surgeon and head of surgery at Cairns Hospital while her daughter is a paediatric registrar at Townsville Hospital.
“Having pioneers like Mum has definitely inspired me. You can have a career in surgery but also have time to attend school events, swimming carnivals and eisteddfods,” Dr Buschel said.
The mother-and-daughter team has only worked together in the operating theatre once, when Dr Buschel supported her mother as a medical student.
“It wasn’t planned and initially I didn’t realise it was my daughter, however, she was a remarkable assistant.” Dr Wu said.
“It’s brilliant more female surgeons, including my daughter, are coming through the ranks, because greater gender balance is needed,” she said.
An impromptu dive holiday to Cairns in 1987 changed Dr Wu’s life.
“During the trip, I had a chance encounter with the wife of the local surgeon, who very quickly offered me a locum role. Three decades later, I’m still in Cairns. If you
want to pursue a career in surgery, you have to give the profession your youth, however, it is much easier establishing a work-life balance in regional Australia,” Dr Wu said.
Dr Buschel told the Cairns Post that “having an Asian mother, you’d assume I was
pushed into medicine, however, I was told I could do anything”.
“I spent my childhood helping people and I love science, so a career in medicine and ultimately surgery was a logical process,” she said.
The RACS is working to encourage more women into
surgery and has set targets to achieve gender diversity.
“The targets for female participation include increasing representation of women in surgical training from 29 per cent in 2016 to 40 per cent by 2021,” a spokesman said.
In 2022, the rate was 32 per cent.