The Signature Series: Looking back to lead forward

Major General Emeritus Professor John Pearn is one of Australia’s most prominent leaders in medicine. The former Surgeon General of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), John has dedicated over fifty years of support for ambulance clinical services. As a physician, he continues to practice with the Queensland Children’s Hospital, after a distinguished career in paediatrics, genetics, toxicology and tropical medicine. He holds triple higher doctorates in medicine, science and philosophy, and is a Fellow of eleven international professional medical organisations. In his role with the Australian Army, Prof Pearn has deployed extensively in to war and disaster zones including: Vietnam, Papua New Guinea, the Arctic Circle, Rwanda and the tsunamis in Sepik and Banda Aceh.

Prof Pearn has published over 700 articles and has authored or co-authored over sixty books and booklets. Prof Pearn launched the Australian College of Ambulance Professionals in 2000, and a is the Patron of the KJ McPherson Education and Research Foundation that supports out-of-hospital research and staff development.

With decades of commitment to St John Ambulance, among countless other awards and medals, Prof Pearn was made a Bailiff Grand Cross of the Order of St John and an Officer of the Order of Australia for his services.

Emeritus Professor Gerry FitzGerald is Professor of Public Health at QUT and discipline Leader of Health Management and Disaster Management. Holding medical specialist medical qualifications in Emergency Medicine and Medical Administration, Professor Fitzgeraldn also has a Doctor of Medicine for a thesis entitled Emergency Department Triage. His implementation and evaluation of a novel triage system was the basis for the Australasian Triage Scale which has been the cornerstone of ED operations for more than twenty years. Professor FitzGerald was previously the Director of the Emergency Department at Ipswich Hospital, was one of the founders of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine including four years as Editor in Chief of the College journal.

Prof Fitzgerald was the Medical Director and then Commissioner of the Queensland Ambulance Service for ten years during a pivotal period of modernisation as many community services amalgamated into one Statewide service. He was instrumental in the reform from a vocational to tertiary education process and the introduction of Paramedics and Intensive Care Paramedics across Queensland.

Prof. FitzGerald served as Chief Health Officer for Queensland for three years and in that role held a number of national leadership positions.