AMA National Conference 2010 - President's Award
AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, tonight presented the AMA President’s Award to Queensland obstetrician and gynaecologist, Professor Caroline de Costa.
The President’s Award is given to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution towards fostering the objectives of the AMA in pursuit of a better health system for Australia.
Dr Pesce said that Professor de Costa had displayed outstanding commitment and perseverance in the area of women’s health.
“Professor de Costa has actively and fearlessly represented women’s interests in clinical work and advocacy for many years,” Dr Pesce said.
“She is committed to improving outcomes in Indigenous obstetric practice, and she is a very strong public advocate for women’s reproductive health issues.
“Professor de Costa has shown principled leadership in her determination to advance women’s reproductive rights on the basis of medical evidence.”
Background:
Professor Caroline de Costa is Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and Director of the Clinical School at James Cook University School of Medicine, Cairns Campus in North Queensland.
Professor de Costa was born and educated in Sydney. She has been a specialist obstetrician and gynaecologist for 31 years. She studied medicine at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and graduated in 1973. After completing residency in Port Moresby General Hospital, Papua New Guinea, she returned to Ireland and undertook specialist training there and in the UK. In 1980, she returned to Port Moresby for a further 18 months before moving back to Sydney, where she spent 17 years in private practice. In 1999, she moved to Cairns and took up her present appointment in 2004.
In her current practice, Professor de Costa is deeply involved in improving outcomes for Indigenous women in the area of obstetrics and gynaecology. She is conducting research into possible interventions to reduce the incidence of fetal alcohol syndrome in children of Indigenous women in Far North Queensland. She also has an interest in caesarean section, including the history and social implications of this common operation, as well as techniques and risks of the surgery.
28 May 2010
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