Alison is a specialist Obstetrician and Gynaecologist with a focus on gynaecology who has a particular interest in advanced laparoscopic and hysteroscopic surgery.
After graduating from medical school at The University of Melbourne, Alison undertook her basic obstetric and gynaecology training at The Royal Women’s Hospital, including a one-year secondment to the Royal Darwin Hospital.
She spent three years working at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital in London, gaining further surgical experience and widening her surgical mentors to include the best that the UK has to offer. While in London, she completed a Master of Surgical Education at Imperial College, focusing on gynaecology trainees’ motivations to undertake laparoscopic simulation training.
Having qualified as a consultant obstetrician/gynaecologist in 2019, Alison sought out an advanced laparoscopic gynaecology Fellowship with A/ Prof Alan Lam in Sydney in 2020/21, under the auspices of the Australasian Gynaecological Endoscopy and Surgery society (AGES). During her two-year apprenticeship with A/Prof Lam, Alison was involved in the multidisciplinary and surgical care of patients with severe endometriosis and numerous fibroids. In addition, she was able to learn and adopt A/Prof Lam’s surgical techniques when undertaking laparoscopic hysterectomy and laparoscopic myomectomy, amongst other operations.
Alison enjoys keeping abreast of and undertaking research in her field, to ensure her patients receive optimal comprehensive, evidence-based care. Reports of Alison’s research have been published in various medical journals, including The Obstetrician & Gynaecologist (UK), The British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (UK), and the Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynaecology (USA). Her current research projects include: a review of antibiotic use at a tertiary hospital; a survey of gynaecologists’ specimen extraction techniques; and a case-control study of a potential biomarker for endometriosis.
When not consulting with or operating on patients, Alison loves spending time with her husband and daughter. She has always been a keen runner, having run marathons in Melbourne, Queenstown, Singapore, London and New York. Her proudest athletic achievements include her marathon PB (3:10mins) and captaining the first-ever all-female team to win the Oxfam 100km Trailwalker event outright (Melbourne, 2007).
Alison loves teaching medical students and obstetric and gynaecology trainees,and has long found that the best way to learn and keep abreast of the latest evidence-based care is to teach! She is a Clinical Teaching Fellow at The University of Melbourne, and regularly instructs on surgical courses such as the RANZCOG ‘Foundations of Surgery’ course, A/Prof Alex Ades’ advanced laparoscopic gynaecology course, and the RANZCOG/AGES trainee workshop. She is also an examiner for the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.
As you can see, her journey as a surgeon included basic training in Melbourne and Darwin, and jaunts both interstate (Sydney), and overseas (London) to complete advanced laparoscopic surgery training. Alison is proud to be accredited to perform surgery at FPH, to offer the surgical skills gained in London and Sydney to patients in her hometown. Having been born herself at Frances Perry House (at its previous site), this apple has not fallen far from the tree!