Emergency department specialist receives Peter Freeman award
6 June 2024
Dr Kelly Austin, emergency department specialist at Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora Taranaki, was awarded the Peter Freeman – Making a Difference award at the most recent Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (ACEM) Emergency Medicine in Aotearoa Conference.
This is an annual award granted to an individual who has made significant a contribution to the specialty of emergency medicine at a local or national level.
During the presentation the nomination was read and included the following statement:
Kelly Austin has been instrumental in providing emergency medical care, in developing the scope of the service in Taranaki, and in shaping scores of young trainees to continue this high-quality care in the future. Thousands of patients visiting Taranaki emergency departments have benefited from her hard mahi either directly from her, or indirectly via the many trainees who have learned from her.
Kelly has been in the role of Co-DEMT (co-director of emergency medicine training) in Taranaki for over 10 years now. She has been vital in increasing the programme in Taranaki from just a handful of trainees to a roster of 14 RMOs (registered medical officers).
As the department has expanded to include more Aotearoa-trained SMOs (senior medical officers), she has been instrumental. In addition to her dedication with trainee education she is consistently active in SMO meetings and clinical governance. She ensures that the Taranaki training programme excels above the standards set by ACEM and the success rate of the trainees in passing exams is a testament to this.
Her work ethic is driven by her dedication to the specialty and to the junior doctors who look to her as a source of knowledge and inspiration. Despite all the adversity in and around the profession she keeps an open mind and a calm, humorous demeanour to keep herself, her colleagues, and her juniors, moving forward in positive progression of the specialty of emergency medicine.
Congratulations Kelly for your well-deserved accomplishment!
Last updated: Thursday, June 6, 2024