The Team
Dr Kate Stannard
Kate qualified from Guy’s & St Thomas’ Medical School, London in 1995. She has pursued a career in anaesthesia during which she had a research & clinical lecturer’s post at Royal Perth Hospital, Western Australia. In 2005 she took up a consultant post at Tunbridge Wells Hospital, where she met Helen. They have both been involved in medical education, running a regional exam course for Primary FRCA, as College Tutors and more recently they have been appointed by the Royal College of Anaesthetists as FRCA examiners. In addition Kate is a Lead Clinical Supervisor in the new Kent & Medway Medical School. Kate is a general DGH anaesthetist with an interest in high risk orthopaedic surgery, paediatric ENT surgery & pre operative assessment clinics involving optimisation of patients embarking on surgery.
Having become disillusioned with seemingly stale, silo based conferences in uninspiring venues Kate & Helen decided to start WIMIN. Initially, due to a shared love of skiing, a winter meeting was launched. This has been highly successful with women in medicine from a wide range of specialities delivering an excellent program. The summer meeting promises to be just as diverse & exciting. Kate hopes that WIMIN will continue to provide progressive meetings where women in medicine can not only share their knowledge but also by providing a safe space, allow difficult topics affecting their profession such as mental health challenges & sexual discrimination to be addressed.
Dr Helen Burdett
Helen went to Bristol Medical School and qualified in 1992. She trained initially as a paediatrician in Bristol which is where she found that anaesthesia was where her interests lay whilst working in PICU. She trained in anaesthesia in the South West of England and did one year at GOSH for advanced training in paediatric anaesthesia. She has worked as a Consultant Anaesthetist since 2003 and has a special interest in paediatric anaesthesia - mainly high risk orthopaedics and ENT. She also has sub speciality interests in adult orthopaedic surgery and bariatric surgery.
She started up and runs a high risk anaesthetic clinic for children with complex problems or complex surgery and this has allowed families to have their child's operation locally rather than having to travel to tertiary centres whenever suitable.
Helen was college tutor for 6 years and started a primary FRCA course with Kate with priority to anaesthetic trainees in the region.
Helen was an expert advisor for the MHRA for 7 years on the paediatric expert advisory group and subsequently on the opioid expert advisory group. She has been a final FRCA examiner since 2020..
Dr Manju Sharma
International Medical Graduate Representative
Manju Sharma is currently working as a simulation fellow at Maidstone and Tunbridge wells NHS trust.
Having done her MBBS and MD Anaesthesia from India, she is now working as an anaesthetist in UK. She has been an active member of a non-government organisation in India working to empower children and women at a grassroot level.
Yuta Nyemitei-Addo
Medical School Representative
Yuta is a fourth-year medical student at Kent and Medway Medical School. She obtained Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Science in 2019. Subsequently, she pursued a Master’s Degree in Reproductive and Sexual Health Research from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. This course aimed to address public and global health issues by implementing reproductive and sexual health policies and programmes in low- to middle-income countries. She was able to develop her research skills and application of research approaches to inform health interventions in these populations. In 2020, Yuta was part of the founding cohort at Kent and Medway Medical School. She took on a leadership role of the founding Vice President of Obstetrics and Gynaecology society in 2021 and was re-elected for the position in 2023. In 2021, she embarked on a fellowship programme by Medics Academy where she was able to cultivate her passion for medical education, leadership, and health innovation. Throughout her medical training, she developed a strong commitment for women and children health and rights with aspirations to establish non-profit organisations aimed at addressing health disparities in low- to middle-income countries.
Dr Anita Sri
Doctor in Training Representative
Anita is CT2 anaesthetic trainee currently working in Kent, Surrey and Sussex deanery. She went to Imperial College School of Medicine, where she pursued an interest in paediatric cardiology and assisted in research at the Royal Brompton Hospital. It was during her time as a foundation doctor working in ICU, that she found her place in anaesthesia. After spending 6 months as an ICU junior clinical fellow at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital, she went into anaesthetic training. Throughout her training, she has taken representative roles to support her colleagues at work and further the drive for equality in the NHS, for both patients and healthcare professionals.’