Gordian Fulde

Gordian Ward Fulde AO (born 1948) is an Australian emergency medicine specialist, the founder of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine, and the director of the emergency department of St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney. He was named Senior Australian of the Year in 2016.

Gordian Fulde AO
Born	Gordian Ward Oskar Fulde October 3, 1948 Engen, Germany
Nationality	Australian
Education	Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery (1971)
Alma mater	University of Sydney
Occupation	Doctor
Years active	1971–present
Employer	St. Vincent's Hospital, Sydney
Television	Kings Cross ER: St Vincent's Hospital
Spouse(s)	Lesley Forster
Children	2
Parents	Edwald Adolf Oskar Fulde (father) Marie Luise Fulde (mother)
Awards	Senior Australian of the Year (2016)
Medical career
Profession	Doctor
Field	Emergency Medicine
Institutions	St. Vincent's Hospital, Sydney

Early life

Fulde was born in Germany in 1948 to Edwald Adolf Oskar Fulde, a thoracic surgeon, and Marie Luise Fulde, a pathologist. He migrated to Australia with his parents and older brother, Lothar, when he was one year old, settling in Bellevue Hill, a suburb in Sydney's east.[1]

Career

Fulde studied medicine at the University of Sydney and completed his internship at St Vincent's Hospital. He trained in general surgery, but after taking up a position at Sutherland Hospital that involved supervising the hospital's emergency department, he discovered that he preferred emergency medicine to surgery. He was the third person to register for the examinations in emergency medicine established by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine in the United Kingdom in 1983, and the first person to pass them. He founded the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine in 1984.[2]

Fulde was appointed the Director of Emergency at St Vincent's Hospital in 1983 and has held the role since;[3] as of 2016 he was the longest-serving director of an Australian emergency department.[4] St Vincent's Hospital is regarded as having one of the busiest emergency departments in Australia[3] and is the setting of reality television series Kings Cross ER, in which Fulde features prominently.[2] He is also the director of the Sydney Hospital emergency department[5] and a professor of emergency medicine at the University of New South Wales and the University of Notre Dame Australia.[3] He was a strong proponent of the Sydney lockout laws introduced in 2014 to combat alcohol-induced violence.[6]

Fulde was named Senior Australian of the Year in 2016.[7]

Fulde was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2017 for "distinguished service to emergency medicine as a clinician and administrator, to medical education, and to the community as an advocate for a range of public health issues."[8]

Personal life

Fulde met his wife, Lesley Forster,[1] when she was studying medicine.[6] Their daughters, Sascha and Tiffany Fulde, are also doctors;[1] one is an emergency specialist and the other is an anaesthetist.[6]

References

1. Dow, Steve (20 December 2009). "The right man". The Sun-Herald. Archived from the original on 27 April 2017. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
2. Coopes, Amy (25 January 2016). "Senior Australian of the Year award for emergency medicine pioneer". UNSW Newsroom. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
3. "Professor Gordian Fulde". Radio National. 9 February 2014. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
4. Aston, Heath (25 January 2016). "Sydney emergency doctor Gordian Fulde named Senior Australian of the Year". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
5. https://gordianfulde.wixsite.com/gordianfulde
6. Lowes, Alana (23 May 2016). "Gordian Fulde: Game Changer". The Retiree. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
7. "Senior Australian of the Year 2016". Australian of the Year Awards. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
8. "OFFICER (AO) IN THE GENERAL DIVISION OF THE ORDER OF AUSTRALIA" (PDF). Office of the Governor-General. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 March 2018. Retrieved 12 June 2017.