Rate My Professor Rebecca Ayers

Dr. Rebecca Ayers serves as a Clinical Senior Lecturer in the Department of Surgery and Critical Care at the University of Otago's Dunedin School of Medicine, within the Faculty of Medicine's Division of Health Sciences. Her expertise areas include cutaneous malignancies, melanoma, hand surgery, and breast reconstruction. She contributes to medical education as a tutor in clinical skills for second-year medical students (Med 2) at Otago Medical School. Her special clinical interests cover hand surgery, primary and secondary breast surgery including breast reconstruction, skin cancer management and surgery, and general plastic surgery. Qualified with MB ChB from the University of Otago Medical School (1999), FRACS (Plastic Surgery), and a Postgraduate Diploma in Hand Surgery from the University of Manchester, she practices as a Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon at Dunedin Public Hospital (Southern District Health Board), Mercy Hospital, and Queenstown Medical Centre.

Originally from Rotorua, Dr. Ayers completed her initial specialist training in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery in New Zealand in 2009. She then pursued advanced subspecialty training in the United Kingdom for four years, holding positions at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children, The Royal Free Hospital, the Wellington hospitals in London, and The Queen Victoria Hospital in East Grinstead. This international experience enhanced her skills in complex reconstructive procedures prior to her return to Dunedin in 2013, where she established her consultant roles in both public and private sectors while maintaining her academic appointment at the University of Otago. Her work bridges clinical practice and teaching, focusing on key areas of plastic surgery.