Naeema follows her heart
A belated shout-out to school science teacher Mrs Erickson who inspired Naeema Ginwala-Hasan to follow her heart.
The trust’s first female interventional cardiologist traces her fascination with the organ back to a biology lesson with cows’ hearts the teacher bought into class.
“I still remember that lesson. It was fascinating and was the start of my journey to where I am today.”
Dr Ginwala-Hasan is part of a team that diagnose and treat thousands of patients with heart conditions every year using non-surgical, keyhole techniques, that often allow patients to go home the same day.
“I really enjoy being in the cathlab. I work with a great team. What we do really helps patients feel better and live longer. It is nice to be able to interact with the patient because they are conscious throughout the procedure.
“The workload is heavy, but where there is a will, there is a way,” says the mother of two who says women shouldn’t be put off the specialty because of concerns over work-life balance.
“If it is something you really want to do then my advice is to go for it. It is still a predominantly male-dominated field of medicine, but more women are joining the specialty every year and I’ve had wonderful supportive colleagues and mentors along the way.”