This follows the completion of the term of the previous President, Dr Simon Judkins, which concluded at the end of the College’s Annual General Meeting held in Hobart, Tasmania on Sunday 17 November, in conjunction with the College’s Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM). Dr Judkins will now assume the role of Immediate Past President.
In the role of the College’s Immediate Past President, Dr Judkins will remain involved with the College working on the strategic planning of Australia’s emergency medicine workforce and the implementation and advocacy of the Safe EDs project. He will also continue to support President Bonning in the College’s advocacy.
“We thank Dr Simon Judkins for his tremendous service to the College and its members, and we welcome Dr John Bonning as the new College President, also the first New Zealand President in its 36 year history,” says Dr White.
Dr Judkins said that it has been an honour to serve the College as President for the last two years.
“It’s exciting to have John Bonning coming on board as our new President. John’s a terrific guy, he’s got a lot of passion and energy. We are very much aligned in our thinking about the systems and the environment that we’re working in. It’s going to be great to hand over to John.”
“My message to members would be: get involved, be brave, step up, make courageous decisions and work together to improve care,” says Dr Judkins. “Emergency physicians have those values of integrity, respect, collaboration and equity. We care for each other and we care for our communities,” he says.
Dr Bonning assumed the ACEM Presidency during a traditional handover ceremony led by Waikato Tainui Kaumatua Taki Turner and his wife Kuia Ratau Turner, representing Waikato Tainui iwi (tribe) and the Waikato District Health Board where Kaumatua Taki is also chair of the DHB’s Kaumatua Kaunihera (Elders Council). The ceremony was attended by the families of both Dr Bonning and Dr Judkins.
Dr Bonning has been a doctor for nearly 30 years, with over 16 years as a specialist emergency physician working in the Emergency Departments. He was Waikato Hospital’s Director of Department of Emergency Medicine from 2010-2017. He has been a College Board member since 2014. He has previously served as chair of the New Zealand Faculty. He is also the current Chair of New Zealand’s Council of Medical Colleges.
Dr Bonning completed emergency medicine training in New Zealand and Australian at hospitals. Waikato Hospital in the Waikato Tainui area, and Rotorua Hospital in the Bay of Plenty for New Zealand emergency medicine training; and half in Melbourne’s South-East at Monash Medical Centre and Dandenong Hospitals.
Dr Bonning said: “It is a tremendous honour for me to be elected and commence as President of this esteemed College, and I am both humbled and thrilled to be elected by my colleagues to this role.”
“In taking on this significant responsibility, I would like to pay tribute to the tireless efforts of my predecessor, Dr Simon Judkins, who has contributed so much to the College, its members and the cause of emergency medicine, during his two years as President.”
“I will do my utmost to live up to his legacy, and build on the excellent work of all who have come before me in this role.
“As the first Aotearoa New Zealand President of ACEM, I acknowledge there are many issues and challenges, both unique and common, across the two great nations, which continue to require much hard work and attention,” says Dr Bonning.
Dr Bonning works at Waikato Hospital Emergency Department and he also works a few times a year in Australia as a locum in rural Alice Springs hospital.
“I am committed to continuing to progress work around improving equity of access to healthcare, especially where Māori and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians continue to face significant barriers in our healthcare systems.
“It is also well known that the pressures on hospital emergency departments, their staff and patients have been steadily and consistently building over recent years, and continuing to address these, and many other issues will remain top of my agenda.
“I am passionate about sustainability and equity. I am passionate about emergency medicine, the dedicated professionals who chose it as a specialty, the hospitals, health systems and patient we serve. It is an honour to commence as ACEM President, and to be given this opportunity to build on the work of others, and make a real difference,” he says.
Dr John Bonning will serve as ACEM President until November 2021.
ENDS
Background
ACEM is the peak body for emergency medicine in Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia, responsible for training emergency physicians and advancement of professional standards. www.acem.org.au
Available for media/on request:
- Updated photographic images of Dr John Bonning
- Images: traditional handover Ceremony, Sunday 17 November 2019.
- Video: traditional handover ceremony, Sunday 17 November 2019.
Media Contact
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