Connie Beauchamp

Whilst I’m working on the upcoming piece that will be humiliation by bad 90s fashion choices, here’s another of my Underneath the Scrubs interviews.  This time delving into the life of Sahira Shah. Name: Sahira Shah Job Title: Director of Cardiothoracic Surgery/Clinical Lead of Darwin Ward.  Favourite Book: The Help by Katherine Stockett or Open Hearts by Kate Bull  Favourite Cocktail: Mojitos (obviously!) Favourite Person: Can I have two? My boys - my sons; Abs and Indy. Favourite Junk Food: Biriyani Curry or Moroccan churros and chocolate sauce Favourite Song: Pretty much anything from the 80's pop/dance era for me. Although I love a bit of ABBA and Whitney too! Favourite Movie: Pretty Woman (such a classic!) Favourite TV Show: Desperate Housewives  Number 1 on my speed dial: @SardonicBlake (home bestie) or Nurse Donna Jackson (work bestie)  Colour of my Favourite Pyjamas: My dark purple silk pyjamas (my boys got for me for Mother's Day a couple of years ago!)...

Those of you on Twitter might have noticed that I’ve been - ahem - actively campaigning to take Grace and Sam on a little jaunt to India.  I’m not sure I’m getting very far, as his Highness is still making regular references to Florida and the Maldives, but I really think that with Grace’s new found interest in medicine, a trip to India would be a worthwhile experience for us all. My last trip out was in 2019, and the medical aspect then was completely unplanned.  I’d been receiving medical treatment, and although discharged by my clinic, still didn’t feel quite ready to return to the ED (the background to this is long and detailed, but if you need to know, you know).  So, quite on a whim, I booked myself on a yoga retreat in Kerala in South India.  Well, the Malabar coast was beautiful, and the scenery was to die for, however it took me all of two and a half days of yoga to discover that I am not the sedentary type.  I was bored out of my mind, and no attempts ...

This time on Underneath the Scrubs (definitely been watching too much trashy American TV because I totally typed that with an over dramatic American accent), it’s my Grasshopper and fellow Snow Queen, Jac Naylor.  Name: Jac Naylor Job Title: Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon Favourite Book: Don’t Look Behind You Favourite Cocktail: Espresso Martini Favourite Person: My daughter, Emma  Favourite Junk Food: Pizza Favourite Song: November Rain Favourite Movie: The Holiday Favourite TV Show: Silent Witness Number 1 on my speed dial: Currently Clayton Colour of my Favourite Pyjamas: Green I Couldn’t Live Without: My daughter and stethoscope  On my day off I set my alarm for: 8am A big thank you to Jac for contributing.  More of these to follow over the coming weeks, so what this space.

As I emerge into the real world after time in quarantine, I thought it might be fun (?) to pick out my 5 favourite moments of the last 10 days.  I was going to attempt 10, but it’s been bearable more than good and I wasn’t sure I would manage it. 1. Spending time with Grace The obvious advantage of enforced isolation has been getting to spend quality time with Grace without any risk of interruption for the first time in forever.  We’ve watched movies, chatted, looked through old photos, and got to know each other again. It’s been truly wonderful.  2. Sam’s Manhattans These should definitely have been called Quarantinis, and come highly recommended.   Method as follows: - Add 2oz of Bourbon, 1oz Sweet Vermouth, 2 dashes of Angostura bitters, 1 dash of Orange bitters to a mixing glass with ice, stir until well chilled and then strain into a chilled coupe and top with a brandied cherry.   I don’t know how Sam makes his brandied cherries and he refuses to tell me bu...

Part 2 of my UTS series, and where better to start than with my med school roommate, life saver, nemesis, and the future Mrs Rose.... Name: Arianne Cornell. Job Title: cardiothoracic surgeon Favourite Book: it ends with us  by Colleen Hoover Favourite Cocktail: sex on the beach Favourite Person: Paul? Favourite Junk Food: Chinese  Favourite Song: Sweet Love by The Commodores  Favourite Movie: Mamma Mia.  Favourite TV Show: Unforgotten  Number 1 on my speed dial: Paul Colour of my Favourite Pyjamas: Light blue. I Couldn’t Live Without: My family and Paul. On my day off I set my alarm for: 7.30am

I suppose I owe one or two people beyond Grace an explanation, although this is going to be monumentally hard to do.  When you’ve lived with a secret as long as I’ve lived with this one, the idea of speaking out on the subject seems impossible.  I remember reading Meghan Markle’s NYT article last year, and feeling such incredible admiration for her, for being able to write so publicly about something I could barely even acknowledge in my own head.  I never thought I’d be sitting down to do the same, so I apologise if this is incoherent and rambling and without much of a point. I just need to get it out there, once and for all. So, 29 years ago, I was a final year medical student with the world at my feet.  I was feeling confident about finals, clinical placements were going well, and I had an amazing boyfriend as part of the package.  He was older than me, kept me grounded, and as he was conveniently a doctor, he was there to help and support me professionally a...

Well this exciting! I now have a regular feature, focusing on the private lives of eminent female medics. I thought I’d start with myself as I had all the answers for that, but look out for other ‘interviews’ coming out over the next few weeks. So, this is me.... Name: Connie Beauchamp Job Title: Former Clinical Lead Of Emergency Medicine at Holby City Hospital, plus a pretty shit hot CT surgeon Favourite Book: Definitely have my scrubs on for this one.  This is Going To Hurt (Adam Kay), My Life In Your Hands (Rachel Clarke) & Complications (Atul Gawande).  Favourite Cocktail: Up until recently, the Black Olive Martini.  Now Sam’s Manhattans. Favourite Person: Grace Favourite Junk Food: Pizza.  Covered in meat. Favourite Song: Losing my Religion by REM and Dancing by Kylie Minogue Favourite Movie: Four Weddings & a Funeral Favourite TV Show: Call The Midwife Number 1 on my speed dial: Paul Colour of my Favourite Pyjamas: What are pyjamas? I Couldn’t Live With...

 In just a few hours time, my beautiful baby girl turns 17, so what else could I blog but this; my favourite moments of her life. #17yearsofGraceBeauchamp 1. Becoming Grace’s mum.  To quote Coldplay, “I was scared, tired and underprepared.” but she was beautiful and, daunted though I was, I fell in love instantly.  2. Her first word, as I handed her over to Sam for a weekend visit.  “Mummy.”  #GirlPower 3. Covering my laptop in Sudafed.  I had an Abstract due for submission that evening.  No laptop, no submission.  Which was just as well since I hadn’t got as far a starting the abstract in the first place! 😏 4. Disney 2009 - Early Co-parenting at its best.  Grace loved being at Disney so much that it neatly made my heart burst.  Instead Sam and I got blitzed in our hotel room, once she fell sleep cuddling Snow White, and both cried about how amazing the whole thing had been. 5. When she won the egg and spoon race in year 3. 6.  Mak...

I remember leafing through Hello Magazine back in 2014 and discovering, with a distinct lack of interest, that Gwyneth Paltrow and the lead singer of Coldplay were splitting up.  It wasn’t really my kind of news story and probably wouldn’t have registered at all, except for one particular reference which I have googled and cut and paste here for accuracy and clarity. "We have always conducted our relationship privately, and we hope that as we consciously uncouple and co-parent, we will be able to continue in the same manner." The reason it stood out is that now familiar, almost overused, phrase - co-parent.  At the time I remember being bemused by it; the irony that I’d been doing it for 7 years and didn’t know that it had an actual name. Now, granted, my own situation was somewhat different to that of ‘Gwynnie’ and Chris.  I love Sam dearly, but I don’t think we ever got as far as consciously coupling, let alone uncoupling  again. But we both love our daughter immea...

Well Grace and I had some very constructive conversations on the flight over here about where my blog could go next.  Apparently there are lots of different things I can do to get myself trending and raise my profile but since I’m new to all this I thought I might just go in slowly and talk about what’s next for me. And, as far as the grand scheme of things goes, I don’t really know at the moment.  After five years of being fully entrenched and grounded by my job role it’s hard to suddenly be cast adrift.  The man sitting next to me on the plane asked what I did for a living and it came as something as a shock to me to realise that the answer wasn’t “Hello, I’m Connie Beaucamp, I’m a Clinical Lead in Emergency Medicine at Holby City Hospital” and I struggled somewhat with an actual response, so in the end I just told him I was an influencer.  I thought Grace was going to choke on her complimentary peanuts but she’s just got no imagination.  However whilst I don’...

Well, it appears that the jungle drums of Holby have been a banging, and my desired secret departure has not been as secret as I hoped.  I’m sorry for just slipping away like I did, but I hate goodbyes and couldn’t face a whole series of them.  It would have been far too hard.  For those of you who are feeling cheated at the lack of goodbye drinks, I’ve left £200 behind the bar at the Hope & Anchor.  Party hard, but safely, and don’t wind up in the ED with drunken war wounds.  I’ve heard the staff hate that.  For anyone who really wants to say goodbye, Jacob has suggested via WhatsApp that we could do something on Zoom, so, give me a few days to get my head together, and get over the jetlag and we’ll try and arrange a mutually convenient time across two continents and several time zones. So, yes, I’m off to America.  Lots of reasons for that, some of which you can probably guess, but others cut a lot deeper and I’m holding them close to my chest. ...