Emergency medicine physician and leading
public health campaigner Associate Professor Diana Egerton-Warburton has won the
2016 AMA Woman in Medicine Award, the Australasian College for Emergency
Medicine (ACEM) announced last week.
The Australian Medical Association presents the Award each year to
a female medical practitioner who has made a significant contribution to the
medical profession.
“This is a great honour and one that
leaves me feeling surprised and delighted,” said Associate Professor Egerton-Warburton.
“I am very aware of the extraordinary women who have received this award before
me and I’m deeply honoured to be counted among them.”
“I want to thank all the staff at
ACEM who have been my invaluable colleagues over the years and who do such
outstanding work supporting emergency medicine and emergency physicians
throughout Australia and New Zealand.”
Associate Professor Egerton-Warburton
became an emergency physician in 1997.
She has taken leading roles in
clinical and academic practice, teaching and patient advocacy over the course
of her career and since 2011 has been Director of Emergency Medicine Research and
Innovation at Monash Health.
As Chair of the ACEM Public Health
Committee Associate Professor Egerton-Warburton has been involved in numerous
projects aimed at driving positive change in the Australian healthcare system,
including research into the effect of alcohol on emergency departments.
In 2014 she was lead researcher on a
study that gained widespread public attention, revealing that one out of eight
patients in Australian emergency departments attended as a result of the
harmful use of alcohol.
“Diana is always motivated by her
passion for delivering better healthcare to her patients,” said Professor
Anthony Lawler, ACEM President. “This is evident through all her work,
including her contributions to medical research and excellence in clinical and
academic practice, her leadership roles in public health projects and her
tireless work as a patient advocate,”
“She’s an inspirational emergency
physician and this award is well deserved.”
The award is the latest in a series
of recent honours for Associate Professor Egerton-Warburton.
Her contribution to the field of
medical education and medical training was recognised in 2013 when she was
awarded the ACEM Teaching Excellence Medal. In 2015 she was a co-recipient of
the ACEM Edward Brentnall Award which is made annually to an ACEM Fellow or
trainee for a published paper relating to public health or disaster.
In 2015 she was also co-recipient of
the Silver Medal at the Victorian Public Healthcare Awards for her study of
used IV cannula.
In giving the Award, the AMA noted
that Associate Professor Egerton-Warburton had made excellent contributions to
emergency medicine and public health as well as being involved with education
and medical publishing.
