Interview – Nicole Williams

Paediatric orthopaedic surgeon, South Australia

Looking forward

How do you feel about the current Australian orthopaedic community, and that of Australian surgery as a whole?

I have met and worked with many outstanding surgeons. These surgeons include those who humbly perform life-saving surgery on tiny premature babies, surgeons who perform humanitarian and outreach work, world-renowned researchers, gifted teachers, staunch patient advocates, leaders and mentors. They are all excellent role models for the surgeons of the future. Great surgeons are not defined by their technical ability but by their professionalism and conduct. AOA 21 is striving to improve the way we select, teach and assess future orthopaedic surgeons so that they excel in their non-technical as well as technical skills. This makes me optimistic about the future of our profession.

"AOA 21 is striving to improve the way we select, teach and assess future orthopaedic surgeons so that they excel in their non-technical as well as technical skills."

You serve a number of roles within AOA, including as a Director of Training, and as a member of the South Australian Training Committee and Orthopaedic Women’s Link. Is there anything particular you’d like to achieve through these positions?

Some of what I’ve been able to achieve so far in my short career as an orthopaedic surgeon has been due to hard work, but much of it has been because of the support, encouragement and opportunities made available to me by my senior colleagues. I now take on positions where I hope to provide support and develop opportunities for future orthopaedic surgeons so that they can reach their potential.

Do you have any particular aspirations for your career moving forward? Is there anything specific you’d like to explore with further research?

I’ve been awarded a RACS research scholarship to spend 12 months in the UK, which I’ll be taking up shortly. My research will investigate quality of life and the role of orthopaedic surgery in managing complex conditions such as the mucopolysaccharidoses (MPS). MPS is a group of disorders that in their most severe form were previously fatal in childhood or early adulthood. Recent advances in medical management have drastically improved lifespan in many patients but with no or minimal effect on the orthopaedic manifestations of the disease. These children now present a significant challenge to the orthopaedic surgeon.

"In the future, I hope to be able to devote some more time to Orthopaedic Outreach in the South Pacific and outreach clinics in Australia."

In the future, I hope to be able to devote some more time to Orthopaedic Outreach in the South Pacific and outreach clinics in Australia. I currently enjoy travelling to Port Augusta every three months to conduct a paediatric orthopaedic clinic and I have travelled to Solomon Islands as part of a team to help establish a Ponseti clubfoot clinic and also to lecture for the Pacific Islands Orthopaedic Association Training Program. It can be hard to juggle the time away with family commitments. I solved this problem on one trip to Solomon Islands by bringing my husband and daughter with me. My husband enjoyed diving on the WW2 wrecks while my daughter came along to the clubfoot clinic, where she provided a good distraction for the children going into plaster casts.

Williams Interview – Harriet with PIOA Trainees Edit

The registrars of the Pacific Islands Orthopaedic Association Training Program with Nicole’s daughter Harriet in 2014

Nicholas Jorgensen on learning, teaching and sleeping in >