Happy International Women’s Day. Men may have the other 364 days but this day is all about women and how amazing they are. One such amazing woman is Justine Durno. Justine is 25-years-old and has already accomplished a lot despite being born profoundly deaf, which left her shy, withdrawn and isolated. She was bullied at school and would hide in the cloakroom. Justine felt from an early age being a deaf female was more of an obstacle than being a deaf male. She always thought this wrong and now hopes to empower all women – particularly those who have a disability – to not let anything deter them from fulfilling their dreams. Justine always wanted to be a Doctor because she knew how difficult accessing healthcare can be for herself and other deaf people and she wanted to turn this around. She worked hard at school but, unfortunately, she missed out by one grade to follow her dream of studying medicine.
Despite three years’ worth of University rejections, she preserved undertaking courses she thought would support her University application and embarking on an incredible year of volunteering with people with a range of disabilities across the world. Justine is now in line to become one of the very few deaf GPs in this country after finally being accepted to Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry. Justine has faced prejudice, injustice, bullying and isolation all her life. She is finally finding the confidence to not feel embarrassed about her disability but to open and assertive about it and make sure she doesn’t miss out any more. Her career has given her this confidence – so much so, she had even taken up an evening Spanish course. She says she revels in finding herself the most unobtainable goal and then not stopping until she has achieved it.
You have achieved a lot. What is your proudest accomplishment?
It would have to be getting into medical school. I am still in disbelief that I am here, even more so that I am halfway there to getting that ‘Dr’ title!
What are your feelings on International Women’s Day?
That I am very proud to be a woman! It is a shame that International Women’s Day exists because of inequality between the genders, but it is a great tool for reminding the world that this shouldn’t be happening. It’s also a great opportunity to celebrate how far we’ve come with stamping out sexism, and the amazing things women have achieved. This will no doubt empower the next generation of women to believe in themselves and the next generation of men to stand with us.
How does it feel that very soon you be a Doctor?
Very excited! I find medicine fascinating and I feel very fortunate that I will be able to have a job in something that will have so much variety and I will genuinely enjoy. I won’t lie, though, there is slight trepidation too. I’m going into a working environment that will demand more of me, as a deaf person, than my peers. It will get harder before I completely find my feet, and I don’t think the hardest part has come yet!
What holds women back?
It is the propagation of terribly outdated views on women over the years. Media doesn’t exactly help either – in adverts, for example, women are constantly being portrayed as scantily-clad sexual objects whilst men generally are fully dressed and powerful-looking.
What more can be done to help disabled people?
It’s about getting the right support. Deaf people can do anything others can do, given the right support. Without the right support, deaf children and adults are vulnerable to isolation, abuse, bullying, poor self-esteem and low levels of achievement. I am very fortunate to say that this hasn’t been my experience. I got the right support. I had the support of my family – a family is the most important influence on a deaf child’s ability to achieve – and I had the support of my teachers. And the support of the National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS – www.ndcs.org.uk) – I made my lifelong, childhood friends through NDCS and Dumbarton Deaf Children’s Society.
Education and awareness goes a long way because the problems faced by disabled people, such as inaccessibility or negative attitudes, are down to ignorance. We also need to celebrate disabled people more, and focus on what amazing things they can do, so as to create a positive image of them. This would encourage disabled people to feel enabled, not disabled, by society.
What was your greatest obstacle?
My greatest obstacle has to be my greatest achievement – getting into medical school. It took 5 years from finishing secondary school to finally starting medical school. The first time I applied, I got a conditional place in medical school but didn’t get the A-Level grades I needed. Next time I applied, I didn’t have enough work experience, so I made sure by the 3rd time that I had satisfied the entry requirements AND had done plenty of volunteering!
How do you get yourself past the bad times?
I am quite bad at it, but reaching out to my friends and talking to them about it is always the remedy. Quite a lot of what makes me sad or frustrated is shared especially by my deaf friends, and knowing that I am not alone provides me with a huge amount of comfort.
Tips for other women to achieve their dreams?
It’s a marathon, not a sprint. It’s not going to get handed to you on a plate – you will have to work really hard at it, and there will be highs and there will be moments when you wonder whether it’s really worth it. But if those lows are there, then it will shape you as a person, give you resilience, and the success of finally achieving your dreams will feel even sweeter!
You have said you revels in finding the most unobtainable goal and then not stopping until you have achieved it. Any tips for other women to develop the same great attitude and do the same thing?
Never lose vision of the end goal, because that is what keeps the motivation there. Equally, don’t let it take over your life at the expense of enjoying it and taking each day as it comes. If you aren’t enjoying yourself whilst striving to achieve something, then one will be so much more likely to feel overwhelmed, or bored and fed up, and just give up.
What is the next unobtainable goal?
To make healthcare much more accessible for deaf people and therefore to contribute towards taking away the health inequality that exists amongst the deaf community.
Research has shown that there is a huge health inequality amongst the deaf community, and the reason boils down to mainly the fact that communication with medical professionals is difficult, and so there is less understanding of the education and advice given by doctors.
Visiting the doctor can be hard for anyone but when you have a health concern you know the steps to take to address it – you pick up the phone to make an appointment, understandably there might be some anxiety as you wait in the surgery to hear your name called, and then of course it’s time to tell the doctor what’s worrying you and to listen to their medical advice. Talking about personal health issues can be worrying and uncomfortable no matter who you are or what your age. Imagine though if even the process of seeking medical advice is a challenge. This is the reality for many deaf people.
The main barrier that deaf people face in healthcare is lack of accessible information and communication. Many appointment systems are telephone-based meaning that deaf people rely on family or friends to make calls for them. Some professionals aren’t aware of technologies that may help deaf people.
I want to contribute to spreading deaf awareness amongst the medical profession, and to use my knowledge of BSL and deaf culture (because deaf culture is different to hearing culture!) to provide medical care and education to the deaf community in THEIR language.
But first, I have to pass my exams, perhaps that is my really my next goal!
