What I've Learnt… With Laura Hipple

This is an edited and abridged transcript of the TOG podcast episode ‘What I've Learnt… with Laura Hipple’, available on RCOG Learning. Jo Morrison (JM) spoke to Laura Hipple (LH). Laura lives and has worked most of her career in North Cumbria as a proud Specialty, Associate Specialist and Specialist (SAS) doctor and recently stepped down from her role as Vice President (VP) of Membership and Workforce at the RCOG after being the first SAS VP of any Royal College. JM Why did you choose obstetrics and gynaecology? LH I loved it as an undergraduate. I trained back in the 80s and we did quite a lot of hands-on O these are all things I've done and really enjoyed, as well as leadership roles. People should be valued for who they are, rather than just the job label they've got. I would love for people to never use the term ‘middle grade’ again. We should all be ‘top grade’ doctors, whatever the grade of work, and not labelled as something that can sound not quite good enough. I would love to be remembered for getting rid of that term, wherever possible. JM If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? LH Oh, I'd love to be tidier. I'm forever losing car keys, papers, glasses, chargers, you name it. I once managed to get on the train to London, discovered I remembered the charger, but forgot the laptop. I hoped when I retired, I might get on top of it. But somehow there's always something more interesting to do than decluttering, isn't there?! JM And if you could find it in the clutter, what would be your most prized possession? LH This is a difficult one, actually. There are things like my wedding and engagement rings. But I think in terms of something that I'd miss the most if I didn't have it anymore, it would have to be my home. I think not only the bricks and mortar, but the sense of security, feeling at home in your place. My husband and I are hosting our second Ukrainian guest at the minute, and it literally brings home how privileged we are to be in a country that isn't currently at war or undergoing horrendous problems because of climate change - yet. And I think we're very, very lucky if we have a home somewhere we love, where we feel safe. Another of the delights for me about a SAS career is you get that sense of place and stability a bit earlier in your career than you do as a consultant. JM So, your motto for life? LH Am I allowed a couple of things? The first one I've learned over the years is that learning medicine is a science, but practising medicine is still very much an art. This is one of the things that attracted me to it, and it links in with my other motto, which is basically never stop learning. I trained in the day of textbooks, but your patients will teach you far more at the end of the day than you'll learn from a textbook. JM Yes - John Ledingham, who I had the real privilege of working for, would say, ‘listen to your patient, they're telling you what's wrong with them.’ It can be so easy to organise tests now that we sometimes look at the numbers and not the person. LH Oh yes, treat the patient, not the scan. That's one of my very oft-said quotes in the clinic. So maybe that should be my motto: treat the patient, not the scan. The authors have nothing to report.