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St Vincent’s Hospital Medical Alumni Association
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Welcome to the winter 2015 e-newsletter of your association
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In this edition – in brief
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Historical Talk and Cocktail Party 2015
St Vincent’s Hospital Medical Alumni Association………………………………..………..read more
Medical Alumni Association Annual Golf Day, 2015
Held again at Green Acres Golf Club…………………………………………………..………….read more
1965 Graduating Year Reunion ………………………………………………….………………...read more
St Vincents’ Medical Alumni honoured
In the Queen’s Birthday announcements for 2015………………………….……….…….read more
Obituaries
Mr John C Doyle …………………………………………………………………………………...………read more
Dr Peter L Brown…………………………………………………………………………………..………read more
Professor Roger Blamey……………………………………………..…….………………..……..…read more
Dr Elizabeth Maree Christian…………………………………………………………..…………...read more
Congratulations to Professor Helen Herrman
The Alumni Association wishes to congratulate..……………………………………………read more
From the Archives Department…………………………………………………………..…….….read more
News from St Vincent’s Hospital ...... read more
Postscript …………………………………………………………………………………………….…...….read more
Annual Cocktail Party and Historical Talk
St Vincent’s Hospital Medical Alumni Association is delighted to invite you and your guests to the Annual Cocktail Party and Historical Address on Sunday 19 July 2015. This year, our speaker is Associate Professor Robyn Langham and her topic is ‘A History of Renal Medicine at St Vincent’s Hospital’.
Assoc. Prof. Robyn Langham trained in renal medicine at Monash Medical Centre, the Royal Melbourne Hospital, the Alfred Hospital and in Oxford. She joined the Department of Nephology at St Vincent’s Hospital as a staff specialist in 2001. In 2004, she was appointed Head of Department at St Vincent’s. In 2013 the Department celebrated 50 years of dialysis at St. Vincent's.
The event starts with welcome drinks at 4.30 pm with the presentation commencing at 5.15 pm. If you have not already registered (cost $40), please contact our secretary Sue Mabilia by email or by telephone on 9231 2304.
Medical Alumni Association Annual Golf Day, 2015
Held again at Green Acres Golf Club in East Kew in wonderful weather conditions, 44 players competed for the Doyle-O’Sullivan Cup. The popular winner of the Cup for 2015 with 39 stableford points was Dr Oliver Larkin (pictured below). Runner-up on a countback was Dr John Dowling.
In addition to the main competition for the Cup, prizes also were awarded to the best team score and for longest drive and nearest to the pin. The winning team (group of four) with 91 points were Drs Jeremy Hammond, David Pryde, Oliver Larkin and Michael Leyden. Nearest the pin prizes were won by Dr John Dowling and Dr Michael Denton, and the longest drive prizes went to Dr Brett McGuirk and Dr Anne Cass.
The golf day had a number of sponsors including St. Vincent’s Pathology, Doquile Perrett Meade Financial Services and Audi Centre Melbourne and Richmond. The Association is very grateful for their support. Green Acres golf course was in excellent condition and we thank the club’s staff for making our group very welcome. Thanks also to the convenor of the golf day, Dr David Olive, who once again ensured a very well run and very enjoyable day for all.
The date for our 2016 golf day is Friday April 1, again at Green Acres.
1965 graduating year reunion
Members who graduated in December 1965 are asked to contact Dr Charles Arter (email ) to let him know of their interest in joining a 50 Year Reunion of the St Vincent’s Clinical School year group.
St Vincents’ Medical Alumni honoured
In the Queen’s Birthday announcements for 2015, several of our alumni were honoured. Recipients included:
Dr Hugh David NIALL AO, for distinguished service to biomedical science, particularly in the field of hormone sequencing, to higher education and research commercialisation initiatives, and to student development programs.
Dr Catherine Mary CROCK AM, for significant service to medicine, particularly to improved patient and family care and community healthcare standards, and to the arts.
Associate Professor John Richard (Jack) MACKAY AM, for significant service to medicine in the field of colorectal surgery, to clinical governance, and to professional organisations.
Professor John Francis SEYMOUR AM, for significant service to medicine in the field of haematology, through a range of senior appointments in blood and bone marrow cancer research.
Obituaries
Mr John Coundley Doyle MBBS, FRCS, FRACS.
17/06/1932- 23/03/2015
John Doyle, formerly Director of Vascular Surgery at St. Vincent’s Public Hospital and Medical Director at St. Vincent’s Private has died, after a lifetime of exemplary service and outstanding leadership to both hospitals. I first met John in 1964,and over the 50 years since then he became in turn to me a teacher, mentor , close colleague and good friend.
John Coundley Doyle was born on 17 June 1932, the eldest of three siblings. His early education was at CBC St. Kilda, until moving to Xavier College in year 9. He matriculated in 1950, and was Captain of the School in that year, also playing in the First Eighteen and First Eleven. The following year he commenced Medicine at the University of Melbourne, graduating with honours through the St. Vincent’s Clinical School in 1956, third in the year behind Henry Burger.
John commenced as a junior medical officer at St. Vincent’s in 1957, working through the usual rotations, but particularly remembering his time with Professor John Hayden in the Professorial Medical Unit, and his rotation through the Charles Osborne Surgical Unit where he first came to know John Connell.
In 1959 John married Ann Considine in April and in August they moved to England where John commenced his surgical career. He won the Hallet Prize, first place in the Primary Examination of the FRCS, while studying at the Royal College of Surgeons in London, and then worked at the Essex County Hospital before completing his surgical training as surgical Registrar and Lecturer in the Professorial Surgical Unit at St. Mary’s Hospital in London, under Professor W T Irvine. He also worked with Mr. Felix Eastcott, a pioneer vascular surgeon who had performed the first carotid reconstruction. His experience at St. Mary’s exposed John to over 2 years concentrated training in vascular surgery, a then emerging new specialty.
In 1964 John returned to Melbourne and St. Vincent’s, taking up a Hospital and Charities Fellowship in Vascular Surgery in the Connell Unit, practising both general and vascular surgery. In late 1965 and early 1966 he joined Peter Ryan as a surgeon in the St. Vincent’s Hospital Team to South Vietnam. On his return he was appointed to Professor Dick Bennett’s fledgling Department of Surgery as First Assistant and Senior Lecturer. He held this position until 1970 when he joined Des Hurley’s Surgical Unit as Outpatient Surgeon, continuing in that position until the Vascular Surgery Unit was formed in 1980.
In 1977, a Vascular Outpatient Clinic with 5 inpatient beds was established, with John Connell, John Doyle and John Gurry appointed. On the formation of the Vascular Unit, John Connell became the Senior Surgeon. Following John Connell’s retirement in 1987, John became the Senior Surgeon and Director, retiring as Director in 1994 and from St. Vincent’s Public in 1997. John was most influential and instrumental in setting up the Vascular Surgery Unit as a separate specialty from General Surgery, finally convincing an at times reluctant John Connell that this was the way forward. As Head of Unit, he recognised, embraced and encouraged the emergence of endovascular surgery. He also introduced cervical plexus block anaesthesia in carotid endarterectomy, in cooperation with Michael Davies and Keith Cronin from the Department of Anaesthesia, leading to a significant improvement in outcomes. John published and presented a number of papers on various aspects of vascular disease and surgery during his career.
During his time at St. Vincent’s, John held many senior positions; at various stages he was Chairman of the Senior Medical Staff, Chairman of the Division of Surgery, Coordinator of Medical Graduate Education, Medical Service Director Special Surgery, a member and Chairman of the Electoral College, a member and Chairman of the Medical Advisory Council, and importantly an inaugural Director of the newly incorporated Board of St. Vincent’s Public Hospital. His influence and leadership was considerable, as was his mentoring and teaching of students, residents and junior specialists.
As well as his work at St. Vincent’s Public, John was also in private practice, operating mainly at St. Vincent’s Private, the Mercy and St. George’s. In 1995, on John Clarebrough’s retirement, John became part time Medical director of St. Vincent’s Private Hospital, holding that position there and at the combined St. Vincent’s and Mercy Private Hospital until 2006. He was very influential in this role providing wise counsel, practical advice and principled leadership and was highly regarded and respected by staff at every level.
A man of great integrity, very high personal standards, and compassion for the sick and underprivileged, John was widely read, particularly in biographies, the French Revolution, the Second World War and Winston Churchill, with an remarkable recollection for historical dates and facts. He was a conservative but very competent surgeon and excellent diagnostician in a field where conservatism paid. He was a kind and considerate doctor much admired by patients, families and nurses alike. Family values were most important, and together John and Ann were a great team
John had more than his share of medical problems in recent years, and indeed decades of chronic back and neck pain following earlier injuries. His stoicism and acceptance of his problems was quite remarkable. John died on 23rd March, leaving Ann, his loving and devoted wife of 56 years, their 4 children and partners, and 7 grandchildren. He will be greatly missed.
John F Gurry was a colleague of John Doyle and succeeded him as head of the Vascular Surgery Unit.
Dr Peter Leon Brown MB BS, FRACGP
25/4 /1939 – 26/2/2015
Peter Brown was the epitome of a good GP, not surprising given his generous nature, high intelligence, deep awareness of ethical and social issues and thoroughness of preparation. Peter obtained most of his primary school education and all of his secondary school education as a boarder at St Patrick’s College Ballarat where he won a Commonwealth Government Scholarship and was thus able to enrol in medicine at Melbourne University. He commenced his studies in 1958 and graduated via St Vincent’ Hospital Clinical School in 1964.
He was a Junior Resident Medical Officer (intern) at St Vincent’s in 1965. He briefly harboured a thought of pursuing a career as a neurosurgeon but opted for general practice. In those times, although the College of General Practitioners had been established in 1958, there was no structured training program for general practice. Instead the best and most highly sought after preparation for such a career was to undertake a year as an RMO at the Royal Women’s Hospital and then a year at the Royal Children’s. Through Peter’s excellent undergraduate record and good references from his supervisors at St V’s he managed to gain both those appointments.
These early postgraduate years were very happy but also very hectic. As a student Peter had met a beautiful young woman, Virginia Ross, via his local parish and they had married while he was a final year medical student. Their first child Katie arrived during his intern year and then twin girls Georgina and Emily were born while Peter and his family were residing in quarters (an old terrace house) at the Royal Women’s Hospital. Having completed this training, Peter joined an established general practice run by Dr Paul Adrian in Mitcham and after a short time he became a partner in the practice, where he spent his entire career.
General practitioners in suburban Melbourne then could, if appropriately trained, undertake obstetrics and Peter delivered many hundreds of babies in nearby hospitals over the first half of his career. He was also expected to act as anaesthetist for visiting surgeons who operated on his patients. Gradually both those roles were phased out as more specialists appeared on the scene. Peter was aware that the nature of general practice was changing and that it would be beneficial for his patients if he were formally trained in counselling so this he undertook. He also studied for and passed the examinations for the Fellowship of the newly established Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, becoming an early Fellow of the College.
Meanwhile his family had grown to four with a son, Jonathan, being born. Although his medical practice was very demanding (night calls were handled by the two partners), he was devoted family man and was very active in local parish life and in the schools that his children attended. His agreement with Paul Adrian when the two commenced their partnership was very farsighted as it included the right of both doctors to take a lengthy period of long service leave. Peter and Virginia thus were able to spend four and a half wonderful months travelling throughout Europe in a campervan with their four children in 1980. He also managed to take on a number of hobbies, many shared with family and friends, including camping, canoeing, bushwalking, pottery and writing limericks.
Peter retired from his practice in 2002 and from all general practice three years later. He then took on voluntary work as a doctor to the Refugee Resource Centre. This role was interrupted in 2010 when he was diagnosed with a rare and highly malignant abdominal tumour which required extensive treatment including major surgery. His tumour recurred on a number of times and additional treatment and further surgery was needed in the last eighteen months of his life. He bore all this with great courage, supported by his wife and family and his great faith.
As Peter’s illness progressed, we visited him regularly, and towards the end, we saw him on most Friday mornings. Virginia would make tea for us, and together we would spend an hour or so, talking about day-to-day things, dwelling little on his illness. We talked of experiences in our varied medical careers, our successes and failures. We talked of our lives and their ups and downs. Despite his discomfort and the stark inevitability of his prognosis, Peter never seemed downcast and we had many laughs, mainly at ourselves. But to us, the ordinary progressively lost its ordinariness, as we knew it was likely that we might not ever share his company again. Each time we left him, between us there was a sense of our special privilege, to have been close to this quite exceptional but unassuming man. And so it was, on the Friday before he died, that he shook each of our hands in the warm and genuine way that was his trademark, and he died peacefully at home a few days later. He is survived by Virginia and their four children and ten grandchildren.