Evie keeps an eye on the future
Congratulations to Evelyn (Evie) Mensah who is the new President of the Ophthalmology Section of the Royal Society of Medicine.
The eye surgeon from Central Middlesex Hospital certainly made an impression as part of her inaugural speech when she read out a self-penned poem inspired by pioneering African-American ophthalmologist Dr Patricia Bath*
The speech - Equitable, Diverse and Inclusive Ophthalmology through the eyes of a Geordie Ghanaian - got an ovation from an audience used to a more conservative approach.
This included an accompanying musical score specially composed for Evie’s presentation by Isabelle Ajani.
Evie will oversee a range of educational programmes during her two-year tenure as president and is keen to expand the society’s membership to include Allied Health Professionals who provide invaluable support to the specialism.
She is the first Black president of the ophthalmology section in nearly 200 years and only the third woman to hold the post. Evie said: “I was discouraged from pursuing medicine at school but have always found great motivation in proving people wrong.
“I’d always assumed surgery was too time-consuming for someone with children until a senior colleague suggested eye surgery. I did some research and just fell in love with it.
I have got where I am through hard work, not giving up and not taking ‘no’ for an answer.
“It makes me incredibly proud and sad at the same time to become president but, as I said at the end of my speech ‘while we may be the first, we will not be the last.”
*Dr Patricia Bath was a pioneering ophthalmologist whose achievements included developing a surgical tool for cataract removal, the first Black woman to hold a medical patent.