Aberdeen breast surgeon receives prestigious medal and features in new national portrait

NHS Grampian consultant breast surgeon Ms Beatrix Elsberger has been recognised and awarded with one of the most prestigious medals in surgery.

Beatrix, who works at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, received the prestigious Hunter-Doig Medal from the Royal College of Surgeons Edinburgh (RCSEd) last week and features in a new portrait celebrating exceptional women. The ‘Eleven Surgeons’ painting features nine women still practising today as well as two pioneers in the field, Alice Hunter (1880s-1973) and Caroline Doig (1938-2019).

Along with her colleagues in the painting, Ms Elsberger is one of only nine women to receive the Hunter-Doig Medal which celebrates clinical excellence of female members of the Royal College of Surgeons. In more than 500 years of the Royal College, only three out of 144 portraits feature women. The new, all female portrait showcases a new chapter in a traditionally male-dominated profession and is currently displayed in the RCSEd museum as part of the ‘Women in Surgery’ exhibition.

The medal is awarded to a female surgeon who demonstrates a high standard of surgical practice, clinical excellence, ongoing contribution to education, training and clinically based research, and audit and/or laboratory research of direct clinical relevance.

Beatrix, whose team received the National Institute for Health Research’s CREST Award in recognition of their contribution to clinical trials in 2023, is pleased to have received such prestigious recognition and is keen to highlight the contribution of those around her too.

She said: “It is an honour to be recognised in this way. It was wonderful to meet and get to know my fellow female surgeon colleagues from different surgical specialities featured in this portrait.

“I am proud to have many strong women working alongside me, supporting me and grateful to our patients who take part in clinical trials and contribute to the diversity of studies we are involved in. We work closely with the University of Aberdeen Medical School and our work supporting the next generation of researchers – including many wonderful women – is widely recognised too.”

Hugh Bishop, NHS Grampian’s medical director, added: “Huge congratulations to Beatrix who is an exceptional surgeon and an inspiration to many. The portrait on display at the College is a visible reminder of the contributions women are making to surgery. We hope this encourages more women to join the profession and be part of the wider health teams who dedicate their lives to caring for patients and contributing to the development of future treatments too.”