Former AMA President Professor Brian Owler is one of over 40 Australian doctors recognised for their service in the Queen’s Birthday honours list announced on Monday.

A neurosurgeon, Professor Owler was appointed a Member in the General Division of the Order of Australia (AM), for his “significant service to medicine through the leadership and administration of professional medical organisations, and to education”.

Professor Owler first came to mainstream prominence in a media campaign to highlight the horrors of high-speed car accidents.

“It sometimes just takes one split-second decision to end in a world of tragedy and I have seen everyday people, good people, who made those split-second decisions that ended up costing either them or tragically their family and their children’s lives and of course the lives of others as well,” he says.

Among other doctors to be honoured is Professor Mark Brown, appointed Member of the Order of Australia, who is recognised for his work in nephrology and in medical research, particularly in hypertension in pregnancy. The professor of renal medicine at UNSW was instrumental in setting up the renal supportive care program at St George Hospital in 2009, and has also been involved in an award-winning outreach program for homeless men with Mission Australia.

Dr Andrew Skeels, formerly the medical director of Clare Holland House in Canberra, has been recognised with an AM for his work in palliative care. In an interview with Fairfax Media, Dr Skeels said the greatest lesson he has learned from palliative care is to be able to understand the situation from the patient’s perspective.

“Learn to walk in their shoes and see the world in their eyes and that’s very different to a lot of other areas of medicine and it took a long, long time for me to learn that,” he said.

Professor David Cooper, who sadly died in March aged 69, was posthumously appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia for his “eminent service to medicine, particularly in the area of HIV/AIDS research, as a clinician, scientist and administrator, to the development of treatment therapies”. Professor Cooper diagnosed some of the first HIV cases in Australia in the early 1980s. He was the inaugural director of the Kirby Institute in 1986 and dedicated his professional life to research that ultimately transformed an HIV diagnosis from a death sentence to a manageable chronic disease.

Below is a list of AMA members and former members who have been recognised in this year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours list:

OFFICER (AO) IN THE GENERAL DIVISION

Professor Rinaldo BELLOMO

Ivanhoe Vic 3079

For distinguished service to intensive care medicine as a biomedical scientist and researcher, through infrastructure and systems development to manage the critically ill, and as an author.

Professor Christopher Kincaid FAIRLEY

Hawthorn Vic 3122

For distinguished service to community health, particularly in the area of infectious and sexually transmitted diseases, as a clinician, researcher and administrator, and to medical education.

Emeritus Professor Vernon Charles MARSHALL

Ivanhoe Vic 3079

For distinguished service to medicine, particularly to renal transplant surgery and organ preservation, to accreditation and professional standards, as an academic, author and clinician.

Dr David Charles PESCOD

Beveridge Vic 3753

For distinguished service to medicine, and to Australia-Mongolia relations, particularly through the provision of surgical and anaesthetic care, and to health education and standards.

Professor Michael Francis QUINLAN

Nedlands WA 6009

For distinguished service to medicine, particularly through strategic leadership in the development of tertiary medical and social education in Western Australia as an academic and clinician.

MEMBER (AM) IN THE GENERAL DIVISION

Professor Rodney John BABER

Surry Hills NSW 2010

For significant service to medicine in the field of obstetrics and gynaecology as a clinician and researcher.

Professor Anthony Frank BROWN

New Farm Qld 4005

For significant service to emergency medicine as a clinician, author and educator, and to professional organisations.

Associate Professor Geoffrey David CHAMPION

Mosman NSW 2088

For significant service to medicine in the field of paediatric rheumatology, and to medical research and treatment of musculoskeletal pain.

Dr Michael Gerard COOPER

Castlecrag NSW 2068

For significant service to medicine in the field of anaesthesia as a clinician, teacher, mentor and historian.

Dr Paul Vincent DESMOND

Albert Park Vic 3206

For significant service to medicine in the field of gastroenterology as a senior clinician and researcher, and to professional associations.

Dr Charles Roger GOUCKE

WA

For significant service to medicine in the field of pain management as a clinician, academic and mentor, and to professional societies.

Dr Timothy Roger HENDERSON

Alice Springs NT 0870

For significant service to medicine in the field of ophthalmology, and to Indigenous eye health in the Northern Territory.

Dr David Russell HILLMAN

Nedlands WA 6009

For significant service to medicine as an anaesthesiologist and physician, to medical research into sleep disorders, and to professional organisations.

Professor Lawrence William HIRST

Chelmer Qld 4068

For significant service to medicine in the field of ophthalmology through the development of clinical care techniques and eye disease management.

Dr Ian John KRONBORG

Footscray Vic 3011

For significant service to medicine, particularly gastroenterology, and through innovative substance abuse treatment programs.

Professor Christine Faye McDONALD

East Malvern Vic 3145

For significant service to respiratory and sleep medicine as a clinician-researcher, administrator, and mentor, and to professional medical organisations.

Dr Terence William O’CONNOR

Greenwich NSW 2065

For significant service to medicine, particularly as a colorectal surgeon, and as an educator, clinician and administrator of medical organisations.

Professor Brian Kenneth OWLER

Wahroonga NSW 2076

For significant service to medicine through the leadership and administration of professional medical organisations, and to education.

Adjunct Associate Professor Leslie Lewis RETI

Toorak Vic 3142

For significant service to medicine in the field of gynaecology and women’s health as a clinician and educator, and to the community.

Adjunct Associate Professor Andrew Harris SINGER

Downer ACT 2602

For significant service to emergency medicine as a clinician, educator and administrator, and to professional medical organisations.

Dr Andrew Scott SKEELS

Bruce ACT 2617

For significant service to medicine, particularly in the field of palliative care, as a clinician and educator.

Professor Bernard Mark SMITHERS

Toowong Qld 4066

For significant service to medicine in the fields of gastrointestinal and melanoma surgery, to medical education, and to professional organisations.

Emeritus Professor David Harry SONNABEND

Rose Bay NSW 2029

For significant service to medicine in the field of orthopaedics, as a clinician and administrator, and to medical education.

Dr Domenico (Dominic) SPAGNOLO

Mount Lawley WA 6050

For significant service to medicine, particularly in the field of pathology, as a clinician, and to medical education as a researcher and author.

Dr John Douglas TAYLOR

City Beach WA 6015

For significant service to medicine as a urologist and urogynaecologist, to medical education, and to the community.

Dr Philip Geoffrey THOMPSON

Kenthurst NSW 2156

For significant service to medicine as a plastic and reconstructive surgeon, to health initiatives in South East Asia, and to professional organisations.

Professor David Allan WATTERS

Newtown Vic 3220

For significant service to medicine and medical education in endocrine and colorectal surgery, and through leadership roles with professional organisations.

Professor John William WILSON

Prahran Vic 3181

For significant service to medicine, and to medical research, in the field of respiratory disease, and to professional organisations.

MEDAL (OAM) IN THE GENERAL DIVISION

Dr Terence Francis AHERN

Brunswick Vic 3056

For service to medicine, particularly in the field of general practice.

Dr Peter Chester ARNOLD

Edgecliff NSW 2027

For service to medicine through a range of roles with professional organisations, and as a general practitioner.

The late Dr Keith Francis BECK

Late of Wauchope NSW 2446

For service to medicine through a range of roles.

Associate Professor Terry Dorcen BOLIN

Bellevue Hill NSW 2023

For service to medicine in the field of gastroenterology.

Dr Alan Edward BRAY

Woodville NSW 2321

For service to medicine, particularly to vascular surgery.

Mr Ian Alexander CAMPBELL

Horsham Vic 3400

For service to medicine as a surgeon.

Dr Kevin John CHAMBERS

Mildura Vic 3500

For service to medicine, and to the community of Mildura.

Clinical Associate Professor Michael James COOPER

Sydney NSW 2000

For service to medicine in the field of gynaecology.

Dr Jane Helen GREACEN

Bairnsdale Vic 3875

For service to medicine, and to community health.

Dr Jacqueline Kim MEIN

Cairns Qld 4870

For service to medicine, and to community health.

Mr Hugh Simpson MILLAR

Hawthorn Vic 3122

For service to medicine, particularly to otolaryngology.

Dr Michael MIROS

Loganholme Qld 4129

For service to medicine, particularly to gastroenterology.

Mr Donald Ivan MOSS

Ballarat Vic 3350

For service to medicine, particularly to urology.

Dr Roderic John PHILLIPS

Vic

For service to rogaining, and to paediatric dermatology.

Adjunct Clinical Professor John Graham ROSENTHAL

South Perth WA 6951

For service to medicine, and to the community of Western Australia.

Dr Richard Frank WILSON

Summertown SA 5141

For service to the community through a range of roles, and to medicine.