Professional Life
In 1992, Phelps was a regular on the popular sex education program Sex on the Nine Network.
In 1999 Phelps was elected president of the New South Wales Branch of the Australian Medical Association (AMA). The following year she was elected Federal President of the AMA, where she served the maximum term of three years. Some of her more significant successes involved working with Australian State and Federal Governments on resolving an emerging medical indemnity crisis. The unresolved medical insurance issue threatened obstetrics and neurosurgery in particular, and was exacerbated by escalating medical malpractice claims.
She was also instrumental in establishing an advisory committee on Indigenous health, and promoting debate on the importance of the public health system in response to the bioterrorism threat.
Phelps' major areas of interest included integrative medicine, public health, and human rights issues. As AMA President, she convened an expert advisory committee and pioneered the AMA's first position statement on complementary medicine. She also raised awareness of issues such as Aboriginal health problems, the medical workforce shortage and environmental health.
Her time as AMA president was marked by a very public clash with the then federal Minister for Health Dr Michael Wooldridge. He publicly claimed that she had no specialist medical qualifications The minister later issued a public apology.
In 2008 Phelps was awarded the "Bent Spoon" by the Australian Skeptics Association, an award "presented to the perpetrator of the most preposterous piece of paranormal or pseudoscientific piffle", for "selling quackery and woowoo".
Today, Phelps is a medical practitioner and founder of uclinic and Cooper Street Clinic in Sydney. She is a regular speaker to health professionals and the general public on health and well-being, as well as leadership and strategy for professional organisations. She is currently the health writer for the Australian Women's Weekly and writes political commentary for Medical Observer Magazine. She is a regular commentator on general practice, public health, medical politics and human rights issues. She is also the narrator of Last Chance Surgery, a television program on Australia's Channel 7 network.
In 2009 she was elected President of the Australasian Integrative Medicine Association.
Read more about this topic: Kerryn Phelps
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