Medical Oncologist, Clinical Director, Auckland, NZ

Describe your career. What do you do for a living?

Thanks so much for the opportunity to do this Katharina - it's great to think of other women getting started on the path of healthcare careers! I am a medical oncologist which is a doctor that treats cancer and I specialise in genitourinary cancer - prostate, bladder, kidneys and testes. I am also a clinical director which means I lead my department to provide medical care across medical oncology radiation therapy haematology and genetics and look into system change. 

As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Honestly an air hostess. I wanted to travel and especially be glamorous. But I did love visiting the science lab at the high school and seeing pond microorganisms down the microscope- so maybe thats where it started. 

What did you study? How much schooling do you think is required to get into your role? What could you have skipped?

I did medical intermediate at Otago. They told me not to do english and history and stick to sciences to get the grades to get into medicine and they gave good advice which I ignored because I wanted to study those other subjects. I made it hard for myself to get the grades needed although I did love studying those subjects at uni. There arent any shortcuts unfortunately for medicine. I did it about as fast as I could - six years of med school, two house officer years, five years as a registrar sitting part one and then part two specialty exams. 

Was your path hard or smooth getting to where you are in your career? (Can you briefly describe what it was like on your journey so far?)

You need to think of it once you finish uni as an apprenticeship- so while you are still in training you are also working in your field. The long hours especially when I worked in england during my training were very tough. I was more tired than my friends a lot of the time and that was hard. 

Walk us through your typical work day—when do you start, end, and do all day? (Where do you work from?)

My week is divided between clinical and leadership time. I dont work oncall very much now so my week is mainly 0800-1700 Monday to Friday although I do some admin work after hours like reviewing patient results and signing off letters of communication. 

On Mondays, I am face to face with patients and their families in clinic. On Wednesday mornings, I also take part in meetings to discuss patients' clinical situations with my peers and make treatment plans. On Tuesdays, I have leadership meetings to assess how the department is running and make plans for the future. On Thursdays, I meet with my team one on one to see how their work is going and help them with anything they are having difficulty with. The weeks go quickly. 

What are some questions someone should really ask themselves if they want to get into your industry / career path?

Is it more important to you that your work is meaningful than well-contained or structured? How do you feel about long hours and lots of work? You will never ever be bored but there is always too much work! 

What do you enjoy most about your career? (What do you enjoy least?)

The people! You meet all sorts of awesome people facing all sorts of challenges. It's very special to be let into peoples lives like that. 

I find it hard that you are always responsible for people's well-being and sometimes it's hard to turn off during holiday. 

What tools/resources do you frequently use? (Books, podcasts, mentors, wellness habits, software, etc.)

I use crossfit as a wellness habit because the intensity means I can not be thinking about work while I am doing it and also the endorphins are great! I like to listen to wellness podcasts and I see a dietician and do food prep to help me fuel myself to maintainenergy. I wish I had done this when I was in training with the long hours as I would have managed so much better if I had.

What is something you do when things get difficult? How do you handle stress/ challenges?

It's good to have an emergency action plan for when things get really difficult that you have worked on when things are not difficult. It should describe the steps you will take to self-care during the tough times. Take it out and use it when things get hard- no thinking required! 

What advice would you give to someone who is trying to figure out what they want to do (for work) in general?

Don’t worry too much- many people will go down more than one path. I would not have expected to be a medical director but I enjoy it. Play to your strengths and be curious about trying new things.

Do you have any mentors or key pieces of career advice that helped you get to where you are today?

I was very lucky to have several strong but individualistic bosses who helped me along the way. My husband Peter keeps my well-being on track and knows how to ask the tough questions when I need it. 

What excites you about the future OR what's up next for you in the near future? (Could be career-related, life-related, or even a future career pivot / path) 

I have a list of things I really want to achieve in my leadership role particularly with respect to bringing care closer to people's homes and reaching people who have been missing out on treatment. However after that I am thinking about a later in life career pivot into a creative field - watch this space!

Where can readers find/connect with you if they have questions? OR How can we support you?

fritha@hanning.net.nz

Happy to help!