Rob Atkinson (surgeon)

Last updated

Rob Atkinson
Rob Atkinson AM RFD.jpg
Atkinson answering questions at a function, January 2014
Born (1947-03-21) 21 March 1947 (age 77)
AllegianceAustralia
Service/branch Australian Army
Rank Brigadier
Unit Royal Australian Army Medical Corps
Battles/wars Vietnam War
Gulf War
Rwanda
Operation Bel Isi
International Force for East Timor
Operation Astute
Awards Member of the Order of Australia
Reserve Force Decoration

Brigadier Robert Neville Atkinson, AM , RFD , FAMA (born 21 March 1947) is an Australian orthopaedic surgeon and retired senior officer of the Royal Australian Army Medical Corps, best known for his contributions to trauma and military surgery. [1]

Contents

Career

Atkinson graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery from the University of Adelaide in 1970, completed his residency, then served with the Australian Army as a medical officer during the Vietnam War, specialising in trauma and orthopaedic surgery. He continued his career in the Australian Army Reserve, becoming Assistant Surgeon General (Army) of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). In 1998, he was promoted to brigadier. He was also Emeritus Consultant in Military Surgery for the ADF. [2]

His military service included deployment to the Gulf War, [3] and peacekeeping missions in Rwanda, Bougainville and East Timor. [4] He also served in Aceh, [4] and Samoa, [5] following the tsunamis of 2005 and 2009.

Atkinson has served on the council of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, [1] and received the E.S.R. Hughes Award for distinguished contributions to military surgery. [6]

In 2008 Atkinson was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) "for services to medicine as an orthopaedic surgeon and through contributions to professional associations", [7] and was admitted as a Fellow of the Australian Medical Association (FAMA) in the same year. [8]

In 2014, Atkinson became the President of the Naval, Military and Air Force Club of South Australia. In the same year he unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the South Australian Legislative Council on the independent 'Your Voice Matters' ticket.

Publications

Atkinson has contributed to published papers on medical, surgical and road safety since 1978, including:

See also

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 RACS Surgical News 2003, p. 10.
  2. Australian Defence Force Journal 2002, p. 23.
  3. Atkinson 2013, p. 31.
  4. 1 2 Courtenay 2013, p. 21.
  5. McLean 2009.
  6. Short, Bruce, ed. (2000), "Award" (PDF), ADF Health, 1 (1 September 2000): 92
  7. Member of the Order of Australia (AM), Atkinson, Robert Neville, 9 June 2008, itsanhonour.gov.au,
  8. Australian Medical Association 2008.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Surgery</span> Medical procedures that involve incisive or invasive instruments into body cavities

Surgery is a medical specialty that uses manual and instrumental techniques to diagnose or treat pathological conditions, to alter bodily functions, to reconstruct or improve aesthetics and appearance, or to remove unwanted tissues or foreign bodies. The subject receiving the surgery is typically a person, but can also be a non-human animal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orthopedic surgery</span> Branch of surgery concerned with the musculoskeletal system

Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system. Orthopedic surgeons use both surgical and nonsurgical means to treat musculoskeletal trauma, spine diseases, sports injuries, degenerative diseases, infections, tumors, and congenital disorders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vascular surgery</span> Medical specialty, operative procedures for the treatment of vascular disorders

Vascular surgery is a surgical subspecialty in which vascular diseases involving the arteries, veins, or lymphatic vessels, are managed by medical therapy, minimally-invasive catheter procedures and surgical reconstruction. The specialty evolved from general and cardiovascular surgery where it refined the management of just the vessels, no longer treating the heart or other organs. Modern vascular surgery includes open surgery techniques, endovascular techniques and medical management of vascular diseases - unlike the parent specialities. The vascular surgeon is trained in the diagnosis and management of diseases affecting all parts of the vascular system excluding the coronaries and intracranial vasculature. Vascular surgeons also are called to assist other physicians to carry out surgery near vessels, or to salvage vascular injuries that include hemorrhage control, dissection, occlusion or simply for safe exposure of vascular structures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Podiatry</span> Medicine branch focusing on the human lower extremities

Podiatry, or podiatric medicine and surgery, is a branch of medicine devoted to the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disorders of the foot, ankle and lower limb. The healthcare professional is known as a podiatrist. The US podiatric medical school curriculum includes lower extremity anatomy, general human anatomy, physiology, general medicine, physical assessment, biochemistry, neurobiology, pathophysiology, genetics and embryology, microbiology, histology, pharmacology, women's health, physical rehabilitation, sports medicine, research, ethics and jurisprudence, biomechanics, general principles of orthopedic surgery, plastic surgery, and foot and ankle surgery.

Oral and maxillofacial surgery is a surgical specialty focusing on reconstructive surgery of the face, facial trauma surgery, the oral cavity (mouth), head and neck, and jaws, as well as facial cosmetic surgery/facial plastic surgery including cleft lip and cleft palate surgery.

Hand surgery deals with both surgical and non-surgical treatment of conditions and problems that may take place in the hand or upper extremity including injury and infection. Hand surgery may be practiced by post graduates of orthopedic surgery and plastic surgery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Surgeon</span> Physician with surgical specialty

In medicine, a surgeon is a medical doctor who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as physicians before specializing in surgery.

Foot and ankle surgery is a sub-specialty of orthopedics and podiatry that deals with the treatment, diagnosis and prevention of disorders of the foot and ankle. Orthopaedic surgeons are medically qualified, having been through four years of college, followed by 4 years of medical school or osteopathic medical school to obtain an M.D. or D.O. followed by specialist training as a resident in orthopaedics, and only then do they sub-specialise in foot and ankle surgery. Training for a podiatric foot and ankle surgeon consists of four years of college, four years of podiatric medical school (D.P.M.), 3–4 years of a surgical residency and an optional 1 year fellowship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Merv Cross</span> Australian rugby league footballer and orthopaedic surgeon (1941–2023)

Mervyn John Cross was an Australian rugby league footballer and orthopaedic surgeon. He played in Australia's major competition the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) but Cross, a doctor, was better known for his achievements in the field of sports medicine as an orthopaedic surgeon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military medicine</span> A medical specialty attending to soldiers, sailors and other service members

The term military medicine has a number of potential connotations. It may mean:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denis Browne (surgeon)</span> British surgeon

Sir Denis John Wolko Browne was the first British surgeon to devote his practice entirely to the care of children. A native of Australia, he served in the Royal Australian Army Medical Corps in World War I before moving to England and joining the staff of the Hospital for Sick Children at Great Ormond Street. An amateur tennis player in the 1920s, he made four appearances at Wimbledon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sean P. F. Hughes</span>

Sean Patrick Francis Hughes is emeritus professor of orthopaedic surgery at Imperial College London where he was previously professor of orthopaedic surgery and head of the department of surgery, anaesthetics and intensive care. Earlier in his career he had been professor of orthopaedic surgery at the University of Edinburgh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sir Robert Jones, 1st Baronet</span> Welsh orthopaedic surgeon

Sir Robert Jones, 1st Baronet, was a Welsh orthopaedic surgeon who helped to establish the modern specialty of orthopaedic surgery in Britain.

Andrew C. Hecht is an American orthopaedic surgeon and a nationally recognized leader in surgery on the spine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stab wound</span> Medical condition

A stab wound is a specific form of penetrating trauma to the skin that results from a knife or a similar pointed object. While stab wounds are typically known to be caused by knives, they can also occur from a variety of implements, including broken bottles and ice picks. Most stabbings occur because of intentional violence or through self-infliction. The treatment is dependent on many different variables such as the anatomical location and the severity of the injury. Even though stab wounds are inflicted at a much greater rate than gunshot wounds, they account for less than 10% of all penetrating trauma deaths.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">274th Forward Surgical Team (Airborne)</span> Military unit

The 274th Forward Surgical Team (Airborne)—part of the 274th Forward Resuscitative and Surgical Detachment (Airborne)—is an airborne forward surgical team of the United States Army providing Level II care far forward on the battlefield. It was first constituted in 1944 and served in Europe during World War II. More recently it has been involved in relief operations following natural disasters and has undertaken several recent deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. The 274th Forward Surgical Team was part of both the initial entry forces of Operation Enduring Freedom in 2001 and Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. Currently the unit falls under the command of the 28th Combat Support Hospital and is based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Ned Abraham was an Associate Professor of surgery at the Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales and is a general & colorectal surgeon, a clinical academic and a retired Australian Army Reserve Officer. He has spoken at multiple national and international meetings in four continents and his published articles in general, colorectal and academic surgery have been cited in the medical literature close to two thousand times. He continues to practice surgery in Coffs Harbour, NSW, Australia.

The Joint Health Command (JHC) is responsible for the delivery of military medicine and joint healthcare services to Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel, including military psychiatry and rehabilitation services. The JHC is also responsible for providing strategic health policy, the development of the health preparedness of ADF personnel for operations, and the coordination of health units for deployment in support of operations. JHC is led by the dual-hatted Commander Joint Health and Surgeon General of the ADF.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Colton</span> English surgeon

Christopher Lewis Colton is an English orthopaedic surgeon and Professor Emeritus in Orthopaedic and Accident Surgery at the University of Nottingham. He is a past president of both the British Orthopaedic Association and of the AO Foundation.

Justin Peter Cobb is a British professor of orthopaedic surgery at Imperial College London, known for introducing medical robotics into orthopaedic surgery. He is a member of the Royal Medical Household and was royal orthopaedic surgeon to the Queen. He is on the staff at King Edward VII's Hospital (KEVII) and is civilian advisor in orthopaedics to the Royal Air Force (RAF). His research has also included themes relating to designing new devices such as for ceramic hip resurfacing, 3D printing in orthopaedics, and training in surgical skills. He is a director of the MSk laboratory based in the Sir Michael Uren Hub.

References