Dr. Natalia Rosello, Specialist Grade in Gynaecology

In celebration of SAS week, meet Dr. Natalia Rosello, Specialist Grade in Gynaecology at UHS. 

What inspired you to pursue a career in medicine, and how has your journey led to you working as an SAS doctor at UHS?

I always wanted to be a doctor and a was fascinated by medicine (animal and human) and diagnostics from an early age, obsessed with James Herriot and Casualty growing up. As a medical student I decided that a career in Obs and Gynae was for me and pursued this once qualifying.

Life as a junior doctor in the late 90’s was hard, this was just before the European time directive; on calls were long and it was challenging and competitive to get a training number in O&G. The positive was the ‘firm’ system was still in practice and this provided invaluable support, mentorship and friendship. I considered leaving medicine at this point but I fell on my feet and found myself in a unit where I learnt to scan as it was a passion of the Consultant I worked with. It was an innovative unit and I stayed there for 5 years as a  research/clinical fellow whilst I had my family (four children- it seemed like a good idea at the time!) and found my niche in early pregnancy and gynae scanning.

After this we left London and moved the Bedfordshire where my career took an intentional back seat so I could raise the family and support my husband’s  surgical training. I was working most of this time part time as a clinical fellow in Bedford’s early pregnancy unit. I had never heard of the term Specialty doctor at this point.

We moved south once my husband became a Consultant and once again was considering a change of career, but through friends from previous jobs was put in contact with an Associate Specialist at PAH who was an expert in Gynae scanning and Lead here at UHS. It was her who encouraged me to become a Specialty Doctor and in 2013 I interviewed and became a Specialty Doctor in Gynaecology. 10 years later, this summer I became a Senior Specialist Grade Doctor . It has been perfect for me. I work part time, 7 PA's a week, finally feeling I can balance family life, work and personal time. I work in a specialty I love  practice a skill I am good at and feel I really contribute to the Gynaecology department here at The Princess Anne Hospital and the patients it serves.

What are the benefits of being an SAS doctor at UHS?

As described above, my route to becoming an SAS doctor has not been the traditional one to become a senior doctor in medicine, but by becoming an SAS doctor this has been possible for me. What I do is very niche, but I am an expert in my field and much of my role is teaching and training. I am an asset to our department working independently and in tandem with my Consultant colleagues. As an SAS doctor at UHS I have the same opportunities as my colleagues to pursue other interests such as  managerial roles,  to become educational supervisors or appraisers. There are educational half days every 6 months and opportunities to meet and discuss issues pertinent to SAS doctors.

How does UHS help support your continuous growth and development as a SAS doctor?

I have to say that the development team at UHS are excellent at providing courses, half days and on line conferences for development, particularly in leadership, appraisal and job planning. The half day conferences are very interesting, dynamic and relevant to understanding and furthering our careers in this our chosen grade ( the one in April was excellent). The SAS tutors/ team are also very supportive and knowledgeable, always there to support and help where needed.

In summary being a SAS doctor has been life changing for me. It has been a positive move and enabled me to stay in medicine and achieve the work life balance that I didn't think was possible early on in my career. I look forward to the opportunities that being a Specialist Grade doctor brings in the next 10 years of my career.

To find out about how you can join the team, click here to find out about our open opportunities.