A former Aberdeen midwife has become the first nurse to be appointed secretary to the British Fertility Society.
Launched in 1972 and representing professionals within reproductive medicine, the Society has previously appointed clinicians or scientists to the role of secretary.
Alison McTavish, Nurse Manager at the Aberdeen Fertility Centre, is delighted to be the first nurse to take on this key post at the organisation which promotes the sharing of knowledge, education and raising of standards of practice within the field.
“It is quite an honour to be elected to this role within the British Fertility Society which liaises with professional and governmental organisations to discuss and promote higher standards of care,” said Mrs McTavish who manages the Aberdeen Fertility Centre, part of the University of Aberdeen’s Obstetrics and Gynaecology department.
“The British Fertility Society acts proactively on behalf on patients within the UK by promoting equity of access to fertility treatments.
“The BFS also works with the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority to guide and shape fertility legislation.”
Mrs McTavish trained as a nurse and then a midwife in Aberdeen before moving to the Fertility Clinic in 1986.
Three years later, she and Professor Allan Templeton, Regius Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University, opened Aberdeen’s IVF Unit.
Mrs McTavish’s new post will run for three years and involve dividing her time between Aberdeen, Leeds and London.