Average Black Surgeon
Understanding Experience
After my exams, I thought I was ready. Then I watched a master do the same operation in a third of the time. No rush. No drama. Just something I hadn't yet earned.
Harry Benjamin-Laing
Average Black Surgeon
The House
I was asked to consider the biggest role available. I chose the smaller one instead. Not from fear — from knowing exactly where my leadership would actually mean something.
Average Black Surgeon
The Long Distance Between Speed and Experience
He was fifteen years older, calm, conservative in theatre. I assumed the half marathon was mine. He crossed the finish line well ahead of me and barely looked like he'd tried.
Average Black Surgeon
Zero
I opened the assessment and saw zero. Not a low score. Not borderline. Zero. Across every domain. As if everything I had done in that theatre didn't exist.
Average Black Surgeon
Two Languages
The approach that got me through training failed me completely in the exam room. Same knowledge. Different room. I had to learn a second language nobody teaches you.
Average Black Surgeon
In the Room Where They Used My Work
The panel told me I wasn't ready to sit my exam. That same term, I sat in a lecture theatre and heard my own work being taught to the room. Nobody knew I was there.
Average Black Surgeon
Hospital at night
I chose surgery on a quiet night in a doctors' mess, based on thirty minutes of calm and one honest conversation. The information was incomplete. The commitment was not.
Average Black Surgeon
Sisters and Misters
Some women in surgery don't just inspire you. They hand you the map they had to draw themselves, and quietly show you where the difficult rooms are.
Average Black Surgeon
Brothers in arms
Surgery is competitive by design. Finding people who genuinely want you to succeed — and who you want the same for — changes everything.
Average Black Surgeon
The Art of Showing Your Work
You put your head down, you do the work, and you wait to be noticed. It took one conversation to understand why that was the wrong strategy.
Average Black Surgeon
The Indian Uncle
In surgical training, skill isn’t enough. You need someone in your corner. My “Indian Uncle” spoke little—but protected me, built my confidence, and taught me the quiet power of trust and loyalty.
Average Black Surgeon
Forgotten
Months after CCT, I found myself unemployed, filling out forms and applying for locums while the system moved on without me. When the operating stops, a surgeon must ask a difficult question: who am I now?