Scottish Rugby has created a mini-series to explore the careers of three of those management members in celebration of Scottish Women & Girls in Sports Week.

Click here to read the first in the series about Physiotherapist, Flo Laing.

In the hot seat today is Dr. Victoria (Vic) Campbell, who oversees the health and wellbeing of the players as Team Doctor.

With a passion for sports medicine and a career spanning multiple sports, Dr. Vic is a vital, but perhaps unseen, figure supporting the players in the readiness for battle. Her journey is one of resilience, passion, and breaking barriers in a traditionally male-dominated field.

“I actually thought I was going to be a lawyer”, said Vic. “But at the last minute I decided to apply to study medicine and was lucky enough to get into Dundee and I haven’t looked back”.

“I grew up loving sports – I loved watching the Olympics, going to Murrayfield, going to watch football. When I found out that sports medicine was something you could do as career it just sounded like the perfect fit.”

During her elective year at University, Vic went to New Zealand to study sports medicine for the first time before going on complete a specialist module in sports medicine in her final year of studying. She later returned to New Zealand for a few years to work in Emergency Medicine and gain some life experience and have her first taste of working in rugby.

After a whirl wind few years in New Zealand, Vic returned to the UK to be closer to family. With the backing of her family, Vic pursued a master’s in Sports Medicine, setting her up on a demanding yet rewarding path.

“I worked in orthopaedics while juggling my masters studies and working at a local rugby club. From 2017 until 2023, I was working pretty much every single weekend. It’s been pretty tiring, but completely worth it”, she said.

Dr. Vic’s passion for rugby only grew, particularly as she developed her master’s thesis centred around concussion and use of a sideline assessment tool in rugby. Following her work with local rugby clubs, she quickly gained experience, working with St. Mirren, Rangers Women and Glasgow Warriors before joining Scotland Women in 2021.

Pictured: Flo Laing (left) and Dr Vic (right) providing medical care to Scotland Women’s player, Elis Martin during the 2024 Guinness Women’s Six Nations.

Sports medicine in Scotland is not a well-trodden path, and Dr. Vic had to create her own opportunities.

“There’s no specialty training places in Sports \medicine in Scotland so everything I’ve done, I’ve had to forge my own path”, said Vic.

“Whilst I was doing my GP training, I was working and doing my sports medicine exams, meaning I had four professional exams within two years. I remember my GP supervisor telling me I needed to focus on GP, but I wanted to prove I could do both. Whilst training to be a GP wasn’t easy, I had a supervisor and the placements were all laid out for me, but with sports medicine I had to build my own connections and network.

“I’m now really lucky that I’ve got Dr Jonathan Hanson, the Scotland Men’s team doctor, as one of my mentors, as well as Dr Carrie McCrae. These are two fantastic doctors who without, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”

Her hard work paid off, but it hasn’t been without its challenges.

“Working in a male-dominated environment was challenging at times”, said Vic.

“There aren’t many female doctors in professional sports, so I’ve had experiences before where I’m standing with a male colleague, and people assume he’s the doctor when it’s actually me.”

Despite these obstacles, Dr. Vic stands firm in her abilities and hopes to inspire other women to follow in her footsteps. “I definitely feel a responsibility to pave the way for other women who want to work in sports medicine. I want to show that we are just as capable and deserve to be here.

“There are times as women where I think we doubt ourselves or our abilities – I know that I have sometimes struggled with imposter syndrome – but you have to go for it, you can absolutely do it. There have already been lots of great women who have paved the way and I hope that I am playing a small part in doing that for the next generation.”

In the Scotland Women’s medical team, it’s an all-female staff, which Vic is understandably proud to be part of, adding: “I love that we have an all-female medical team. Having so many women in key roles within this whole management group I think is fantastic. It shows people – whether it’s the players, fans of the team, anyone really – women can aspire to these sorts of positions.

“I want to show other women that we can be in these leadership positions.”

Leadership is something that Dr Vic has been continuing to add to her range of expertise. In 2022 she worked with Team Scotland at the Commonwealth Games and was also in the role of Chief Medical Officer during the Youth Commonwealth Games in 2023, where Scotland won its first-ever gold medal in Sevens rugby.

Vic continues to take on leadership roles in other sports and is currently the Chief Medical Officer for British Curling.

As she reflects on her time with Scotland Women so far, a key moment sticks in Dr Vic’s mind – just as it does for many fans: that Rugby World Cup qualifier.

“I joined when the team was at the Rugby World Cup qualifiers in Italy and I didn’t really grasp the significance of that competition at the time and I’m kind of glad I didn’t otherwise I think I would have been pretty stressed.

“The moment when the team beat Ireland with the last kick of the game will probably be one of my favourite sports moments. I feel really lucky to have been part of this group as they’ve entered the professional era.

“Working with this team has had its fair share of highs and lows but has been an unbelievable privilege and I can’t wait to continue the journey and see just how far this team can go.”