New ASiT President announced - Gemma Humm

Newly elected ASiT President Gemma Humm says surgical trainees can count on her as their new representative. 
 
After serving as an ASiT honorary secretary for two years and building an understanding of the inner workings of the association, the general surgery registrar felt that it was time for her to step up to the next level. 
 
“My time as honorary secretary really helped me build a rapport with the Colleges, training associations and sponsors, and enabled me to have more understanding of each at an organisational level,” she says. 
 
Each ASiT President is invited to sit on RCS Council in order to represent trainees’ views, and Gemma is looking forward to working together with the RCS during her term.  
 
“I think it all comes back to collaborative efforts, and engaging in all the positive things that are happening in surgical training at the moment,” she says. “I want to be able to work with the Colleges and with people at a regional level.” 
 
She’s particularly interested to see how the Improving Surgical Training pilot plays out, and what impact it has on trainees and the wider surgical care team. 
 
“I think the way to continue making training better is to identify what is working, not just what isn’t working. Then we can concentrate our efforts on developing the positives and then ironing out any difficulties we may have,” she says. 
 
To Gemma, being seen as an approachable president is paramount. 
 
“I’d like people to remember me as an ASiT president who they could come to with their difficulties and with their praise of training, and as someone who listens and understands the issues they’re facing. I’m a trainee myself – I’ve been there, done it and am doing it, and I understand.  
 
“I want trainees to know that they have a voice at the table for discussions. I think we as trainees can collaborate with the Colleges and the wider surgical workforce to make sure that our time is being used for the ultimate end goal, which is excellent patient care.” 
 
Congratulations Gemma, we’re looking forward to working with you and ASiT in pursuit of this goal.