Shabnam Parkar

Bio

“I am a consultant paediatric surgeon at St George’s Hospital in London. I am the youngest in my team and the first female general surgeon for many years in this department. I am also a performance poet and write about various themes including women empowerment, philosophy and social causes. I am a trustee of a charity that organises yearly medical camps in Nepal. I was also part of the team that helped the Lewisham & Greenwich NHS Choir get to UK Christmas No. 1 in 2016!”

Topic

Surgery is an art as well as a science, and being creative makes me a better surgeon by connecting with patients and their stories on a deeper human level.

Favourite TED/TEDx Talk

‘We should all be feminists’ by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie – It eloquently raises awareness that we should be challenging the story of gender roles; no one should be told what they can and cannot do because of their gender.

What does thriving mean to you?

“Thriving is to see each problem as a challenge to be overcome and learnt from, and not to be a victim to it. When we thrive, against all odds, it is with the knowledge that we accomplished the very best in our capacity and ventured beyond our limits.”