Professor Janice Rymer elected a Vice President of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists

Professor Janice Rymer from the GKT School of Medical Education and Division of Women's Health, has been elected as one of the five new Vice-Presidents of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG).

Janice Rymer is Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at King's and Consultant Gynaecologist at Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust (GSTT). For the last three years, she has been Dean of Student Affairs and prior to this she was Dean of Undergraduate Medicine at King’s. Professor Rymer has been a member of the RCOG Council for 12 years, with the last six as International Representative.

Professor Rymer is an international authority on ovarian failure, complex endometriosis and Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). In 1992 she established the Menopause Research Unit at Guy’s, which works alongside the Menopause Clinic at GSTT. These services have since gained a global reputation and attract trainees from across medical disciplines including General Practice, Genito-Urinary Medicine and Endocrinology. In 1997 Professor Rymer, with Comfort Momoh, a midwife,  set up the FGM clinic, which has treated over 5,000 women and helped set up many other units across the UK.

Committed to education and training within her field, Professor Rymer has worked extensively with the General Medical Council assessing new medical schools in the UK and Asia. She conducted a pivotal randomised controlled trial which showed that Gynaecology Teaching Associates (laywomen) were more effective in teaching undergraduate medical students intimate examinations than traditional methods. This led to a radical overhaul of how these examinations were taught and set a new gold standard for the teaching of intimate examinations. She has published 22 textbooks and 140 peer reviewed papers.

In making her case for the Vice-Presidency, Professor Rymer explained: ‘Times are tough for healthcare and they are likely to get harder. The NHS is in crisis, junior doctors are disillusioned, and women, who are the core of what we do, need our care more than ever. Our College must be the “mothership” for women’s health. I believe we need to focus on preventative medicine, recruitment and retention to the specialty, better relationships with other Colleges, and protection of vulnerable women, while maintaining clinical and academic excellence.’

On being elected to the role of Vice-President, Professor Rymer commented: 'Whilst working as a clinical academic at Kings  I have always tried to promote Obstetrics and Gynaecology as a career and to support our trainees. Being Vice President with the portfolio for education gives me a fantastic opportunity to do this on a national scale.'

RCOG President Dr David Richmond, said: ‘I’m delighted that we have appointed such a strong team to support the President-elect and lead the College over the next three years. Their experience, skills and commitment to women’s health will be invaluable in their new roles.’

The new VP team will take up their posts in September 2016 and work with President-elect Lesley Regan to lead the College over the next three years.

You can view Professor Rymer’s and the other VP’s statements and video messages on the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists website.