OUR SPEAKERS
Read about some of the fantastic speakers who have featured or are scheduled to feature at our meetings!
DR NORY GARCIA
Dr. Garcia grew up in Puerto Rico where she completed her undergraduate studies at UPR and then relocated to New York State to complete her doctorate dental degree in Buffalo. She then completed her general practice residency in Salt Lake City.
She loves the outdoors and started a private dental practice in western Colorado and ran it for 14 years. She developed a passion for traveling and left private practice to work overseas as a dental volunteer in remote areas in rural Alaska, Nepal, Bhutan and Chiapas-Mexico. Her journeys eventually led her to New Zealand where she now calls home and practices at Southland Hospital. She continues to enjoy her passion for mountaineering, snowboarding, diving, surfing, and adventurous travel.
DR DREW RICHARDSON
Drew is the NRMA-ACT Road Safety Trust Chair of Road Trauma and Emergency Medicine at the Australian National University Medical School. His clinical position is Senior Staff Specialist in Emergency Medicine at The Canberra Hospital.
DR NEIL WALDMAN
Dr Waldman is originally from New England in the United States and after completing specialty training in emergency medicine in Denver, Colorado and working in Colorado for 14 years, he relocated to New Zealand. He has been working as an emergency medicine consultant at Southland Hospital since 2008.
He has a special interest in trauma and high altitude medicine and has published textbook chapters and papers on these topics. After university, he backpacked around the world on a shoestring and continues his love of travel as a medical volunteer working in Nepal, Bhutan, and Mexico. He enjoys adventurous travel and backcountry activities that involve skiing, mountaineering, and hiking.
DR RAYMOND WU
Dr. Raymond Wu works is a General Adult Psychiatrist at the Perth Clinic (a 100 bed private psychiatric clinic) where he had been practising practiced for 13 years. He trained initially in criminal forensic psychiatry but ventured later into civil forensic and medico legal psychiatry, and served as an expert witness on many occasions.
He likes teaching medical students and also served as an examiner and clinical mentor to medical students. He also serves as a College examiner. He was a visiting medical officer at the IOTHS at Christmas Island. He specialises in psychopharmacology but is also a trained hypnotherapist and psychotherapist.
His special interests are in Mood Disorders especially bipolar depression, conversion disorders and psychosomatic medicine. Raymond is a Malaysian born Chines and grew up studied medicine at the National University of Singapore. He started his training in Emergency Medicine after completing national service as a Military doctor in Singapore before he settled in Perth with his family where he then trained in Psychiatry. He had worked as an emergency / evacuation doctor in Singapore and later also a general practitioner. He completed his AMC certification in 1995.He cycles to work daily.
DR GEOFF RAMIN
Geoff is currently the Chief Medical Officer of Allianz Partners. He has over 25 years of extensive clinical experience and knowledge in specialist emergency medicine, intensive care, prehospital care, aviation medicine, aeromedical retrieval, wilderness and altitude medicine. Geoff has extensive experience in both the coordination of aeromedical evacuation services and the conduct of medical repatriation and retrieval.
Geoff is also the Medical Director of MSS Strategic Medical which specialises in the provision of emergency medical services to the natural resources sector and is part of MSS, Australia's largest provider of security services. Geoff is currently also a Consultant in Intensive Care at The Tweed Hospital. Geoff has previously been Director of Emergency Medicine at the Gold Coast’s John Flynn Hospital, Medical Director of CareFlight QLD, Medical Director of Aeromedical and Critical Care Services RFDS QLD and Network Director Emergency Medicine for the Tweed Byron region.
Geoff was awarded an Australia Day Medallion for his services to pre-hospital care in 1999.
Ashok started his medical career in the Emergency Department at Fremantle Hospital in 1984 and is still there! A 30 year long working life commenced with a focus on critical care, followed by senior management appointments. He currently enjoys working as full-time clinician Emergency Physician in a public tertiary hospital setting, gaining much satisfaction from nurturing young doctors and applying common sense to every day practice. Sharing experiences and discussing current topics with colleagues, in between bouts of physical activity, is his ideal.
DR ASHOK ARASU
Dr Marianne Kirrane is a Staff Specialist in Intensive Care at the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, a major university affiliated hospital in South East Queensland. RBWH is a major trauma centre as well as the burns centre for Queensland. Marianne holds a Master in Public Health, majoring in Aeromedical Retrieval, from JCU, as well as a BA(Hons) in Medical Journalism (University of Westminster).
Her interests lie in the introduction of IT solutions to support the day-to-day running of the ICU as well as improving the patient and family journey through Critical Care.
DR MARIANNE KERR
DR GARY SWIFT
Dr Gary Swift is a Fertility Specialist highly skilled in complex laparoscopic surgery techniques. Gary graduated in Medicine from the University of Queensland in 1988. He began specialist training in Obstetrics and Gynaecology in 1994, and obtained his FRANZCOG qualification in 1999. Most recently he has continued his tertiary studies graduating with a Masters in Reproductive Medicine from the University of New South Wales. Gary is a supervisor for the fellowship program in Advanced Gynaecological Endoscopic Surgery at GCUH and Robina Hospitals. His practice focuses on gynaecology and fertility treatment and he specialises in complex laparoscopic surgical techniques for diseases affecting fertility with a special interest in endometriosis. He also provides obstetric care for patients successfully pregnant.
DR JAN ADAMEC
Dr Jan Adamec received his Swiss Medical Federal Diploma in 1988 and his Doctorate in Medicine in 1994 (MD) at the Geneva University. Since 1996 he has served as a FMH Specialist in Cardiology and Internal Medicine. Since 1997 he has been a Consultant Cardiologist at the Cardiology Centre (University Hospital Geneva), Associate Cardiologist, Cecil Clinic, Hirsladen, Lusanne and Deputy Head Psysician at the Clinique La Prairis, Montrereux, Vaud, Switzerland.