Dinesh Palipana

Dinesh Palipana OAM (born 1984) is an Australian doctor, lawyer and disability advocate. He is the first quadriplegic medical intern in Queensland, Australia.[1][2][3][4] He is the second person with quadriplegia to graduate as a doctor in Australia and the first with spinal cord injury.[5]

Dr Dinesh Palipana OAM being photographed at Griffith University's Advanced Design and Prototyping Technologies Institute, where he co-leads the innovative Biospine project with Dr Claudio Pizzolato.

Dinesh Palipana
Born1984 (age 36–37)
Kandy, Sri Lanka
NationalityAustralian
Alma mater
OccupationDoctor

Palipana has been an advocate for medical students with disabilities in Australia, where significant barriers exist.[6][7]

Dr Dinesh Palipana OAM

Career

Dinesh Palipana obtained a degree in law from the Queensland University of Technology.[8] He then commenced a Doctor of Medicine at the Griffith University, graduating in 2016 as the first quadriplegic medical graduate in the state of Queensland, the second in Australia. He graduated with several awards[9] and was featured in the Griffith University video Dinesh Palipana is remarkable.[10] He completed a medical clerkship at Harvard Medical School.[11] Palipana holds the title of lecturer at Griffith University.[12] Dinesh was admitted as a lawyer in September, 2020.[13]

Following a spinal cord injury, Palipana found adapted ways to be trained as a quadriplegic doctor in partnership with Griffith University and the Gold Coast University Hospital.[14] This was a previously unaccomplished feat in Queensland. He has consequently openly advocated for training medical students with disabilities in Australia.[15]

Despite spending two years in clinical training as a medical student at the Gold Coast University Hospital, Palipana faced challenges in securing initial employment in his home state of Queensland under Queensland Health.[16][17] At one point, he was the only Queensland medical graduate without an employment offer for the year 2016 despite testaments to his ability.[18]

He was eventually employed by the Gold Coast University Hospital to become Queensland's first quadriplegic intern.[19] He has worked in the emergency department[20] at the hospital, the second busiest department in Australia in 2017.[21][22] He was nominated for an Intern of the Year award at the Gold Coast University Hospital in 2017.[23]

With an interest in radiology,[24] he is a contributor on Radiopaedia, a radiology education portal designed for medical professionals.[25]

In 2020, Palipana became the team doctor for the Gold Coast Titans Physical Disability Rugby League team.[26]

Injury

During medical school, Palipana was involved in a car accident causing a spinal cord injury and quadriplegia.[27][28] He was 25 years old at the time. The 2010 motor vehicle accident occurred on Brisbane's Gateway Motorway.[29] A physician attending the accident scene with emergency services had taught Palipana during medical school.[30] During his recuperation, Palipana experienced complications that included sepsis and pleural effusion.[31]

Palipana subsequently spent seven months at a spinal injuries unit in the Princess Alexandra Hospital.[32][33] He met the boxer Joe Frazier during his admission in hospital.[34]

Advocacy

While recuperating from his injury, Palipana spent some time in Sri Lanka.[35] During that time, he was noted for raising awareness[36] and funding[37] for spinal cord injury in the country. In 2013, he gifted a stock of medical supplies for spinal cord injury to the then Minister of Health[38] Maithripala Sirisena.[39] Palipana sits on the council of the Sri Lanka Spinal Cord Network.[40]

Dinesh Palipana at TEDxBrisbane 2018

In 2015, the Medical Deans of Australia and New Zealand issued a set of guidelines providing Australian medical schools the power to exclude students with a range of disabilities.[41] The guidelines can potentially be used exclude medical students with similar conditions to Palipana. By using his story as an example,[42] Palipana has been a vocal advocate for taking an inclusive approach to medical education in the country instead.[43][44][45] Palipana has been using his story to demonstrate ways in which doctors,[46][47][48] and the wider population,[49][50][51][52] can work effectively with disabilities. In 2018, he was a keynote speaker at Stanford Medicine X at the Stanford University[53][54] and TEDxBrisbane[55] on the topic. Through various capacities, he has been an advocate for inclusive employment generally.[56][57]

He is a founding member of Doctors with Disabilities Australia, an advocacy group for physicians with disabilities.[58][59] Through Doctors with Disabilities Australia, Palipana supported some Indian peers in an Indian High Court case during 2019.[60] The case involved a challenge of the Medical Council of India's decisions around medical education and disabilities.[61]

Palipana is a member of the Ambassador Council at the Hopkins Centre, a centre for research in rehabilitation and resilience.[62][63] He has been a member of the Australian Medical Association Queensland's Council of Doctors in Training since 2017.[64] Since gaining employment at the Gold Coast University Hospital, Palipana has promoted inclusion within the organisation.[65][66]

He became an ambassador for Physical Disability Australia in 2020.[67]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Palipana advocated for the interests of people with disabilities,[68][69] particularly in healthcare.[70][71] Palipana appeared on ABC's Q&A to speak about the issue.[72] He spoke at the 2020 Disability Royal Commission on the topic.[73][74]

Research

Palipana has interests in spinal cord injury research.[75][76][77][78][79] He was awarded $2 million in 2019 to pursue research in thought-controlled rehabilitation.[80] He attributes this passion to his own injury. Palipana is a member of the Perry Cross Spinal Research Foundation's scientific committee.[81]

Palipana's interest includes non-invasive interventions to promote functional improvement in spinal cord injury.[82][83] Some of these interventions have involved electroencephalography (EEG) and electrical stimulation,[84] which was highlighted in Griffith University's Be Remarkable media campaign.[85] He has been encouraged by a mentor at Harvard University, where he was one of the first visiting medical students of this nature.[86] The project received $2 million Australian in 2019 from the Queensland Government.[87]

Palipana also has research interests in radiology.[88]

Personal life

Palipana was born in Kandy, Sri Lanka to Chithrani and Sanath Palipana. He grew up in Byron Bay and Brisbane, Australia.[89] Palipana attributes much of his success to the support of his mother.[90][91][92]

Media

Palipana's story was featured on the popular ABC radio show Conversations with Richard Fidler,[93] the ABC television show Australian Story,[94] BBC Outlook,[95] Today,[96] and Vice (magazine).[97] He appeared on the cover of Sri Lanka's Pulse [98] Magazine in January 2020. Dinesh has spoken at various events such as TED (conference)[99] and alongside speakers such as Deng Thiak Adut[100] regarding his experiences.[101][102][103]

Palipana has written for Ars Technica,[104] ABC News (Australia)[105] and Medscape.[106]

Awards and honours

2021: Queensland Australian of the Year.[107]

2019: Medal of the Order of Australia for service to medicine[108]

2019: Junior Doctor of the Year at the Gold Coast University Hospital[109][110]

2019: Third Australian to be awarded the Henry Viscardi Achievement Award[111]

2019: 'Change Making' in National Awards for Disability Leadership[112]

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