Marcel commenced his early medical career at Fremantle Hospital in WA in 1982 before becoming an ED registrar at Royal Hobart Hospital in 1984. He took up solo rural general practice at Triabunna on Tasmania's East Coast in 1985. When his wife got a job in Melbourne in 1991, Marcel returned to Emergency Medicine, initially at PANCH under Mick Westmore; then at the Alfred Hospital under Linus Dzuikas; before turning his hand to sessions at Epworth Hospital ED under Jeff Wassertheil's Directorship.

Private EDs those days were still conceptually new in Australia and provided another career option for entrepreneurial EM doctors. In 1994, Marcel was invited to join such a team which launched and ran WA's first private ED at St John of God, Murdoch under Paul Mark's Directorship. Walking into a brand new purpose built hospital provided Marcel a fantastic opportunity to help develop the unique structure of this ED from its beginnings.

In 1998, Marcel returned to Victoria and has been working full time in the private ED at Epworth, Richmond ever since. Marcel has elected to remain a CMO, and enjoys working in an ED that values the need for dual streams of ED practitioners. Since 2009, he also worked part-time in the ED at the Austin Hospital.

As a hobby Marcel has, since 2000, worked as a tour doctor for a high end tour group that takes him all over the world. He usually travels once a year on tour, with his next one cruising the East Coast of South Africa and Mozambique in February 2011. He is a sci-fi fan, and counts travel, cooking and reading amongst his favorite pastimes.
He has been a member of ASEM's Council since 2007 and is Editor of its Newsletter.
Marcel was elected as President, ASEM at the AGM in October 2010, and has taken over from Peter Roberts. He is keen to attract new members from across the EM spectrum, from trainees to those to practice emergency medicine as part of their broader duties, especially in rural and remote general practice.
Marcel would enjoy hearing from ASEM members wishing to raise matters or, hopefully, contribute an article or letter for inclusion in the 'Society News'. He has also started a 'President's blog' on the ASEM website to encourage more timely feedback to members.

To contact Marcel please email: president@asem.org.au or directly at mfberkhout@gmail.com .

I am currently working at Ryde Hospital Emergency Department in Sydney as director of the ED. I am also network director for Emergency Medicine for Northern Sydney, Central Coast Area Health Service.

In the past I have been a CMO, and my first job after obtaining my FACEM qualification was setting up a private ED at the Hills Private hospital. During my time there, we got together with the Sydney Adventist Hospital and with the help of ASCMO and ASEM set up the organisation that runs the Spring Seminar.

I think ASEM has an opportunity to provide a service to emergency medicine practitioners in Australia and New Zealand, and those workers mean a lot and are worth supporting.

To contact Peter please email: proberts@asem.org.au

After 25 years of medical practise I find myself as the Associate Director of Emergency Services at Cabrini Hospital in Melbourne. I have been there since working on the design over 10 years ago now. Daily I work with a large number of staff and interact with all sorts of clinicians, administrators, volunteers and let us not forget the patients!

When I started in Emergency Medicine ( 1986 Prince Henry’s Intern Casualty Rotation where I met my wife – thanks ..Alan Y) a large proportion of the work was done by non-specialists and I would encourage all emergency doctors , regardless of specialisation, to maintain a high level of clinical credibility with colleagues and peers.

I have worked in salaried positions in both public and private hospitals, as well in true fee for service private practise….you know the type ..if you have a quiet day shuffling charts but not seeing patients, or the patient doesn’t pay their bill because they didn’t feel they received a reasonable service……. Then, you don’t get paid. I did that fairly early in my career and I guess that attitude remains with me now.

I also enjoy travelling and have spent a number of holiday periods over the years working in the tourist industry as a ship’s doctor , tour manager as well as a tour doctor. I have been lucky enough to visit many unique places including Antarctica , Transylvania, Africa, Japan as well as other salubrious and some less salubrious ports in South East Asia and the South Pacific.

After seeing “Long Way Around” and “Down” and heading north from Cape town to Cairo, I passed my motorbike license and on some weekends find myself on my Suzuki Dr 650.Some doctors like buying carbon fibre wheels for their treadly...not really me just yet.

My wife Kathleen and two sons seem to put up with me – which of course is very good for me!

In recent times I have been looking into how we can better manage patients who do not need all the services of an Emergency Department and hospital. If you have any ideas please feel free to contact me.

I joined A.S.E.M. a few years ago to try and help maintain an organization that represented all Emergency Doctors and after a few years fell into the treasurers role. We are still around and relevant.

I am happy to be contacted by email treasurer@asem.org.au or facebook. Otherwise try my email on adamjanson@optusnet.com.au

Dr Rick Lowen is a former rural procedural General Practitioner who has worked in Emergency Medicine for the past 24 years. Mostly at Emergency Department (ED) Director level at provincial, metropolitan teaching and private hospitals in Victoria.

He is Victorian Councilor and Past President of the Australasian Society for Emergency Medicine (ASEM). He was an active driver in reforming Health Law in the early 1990s in regard to blood alcohol collections by doctors in Victoria and, in the late 1990s extending provider number access for ED trainees working in private hospital EDs.

In the 1990s, as a member of the Victorian Ministerial Consultive Council of Critical and Emergency Care Services, he, participated in reviews of State Emergency Department and Critical Care Services and has since participated in other health care reviews including the review of Retrieval Services in Victoria.

He works half time in EDs as a clinician and the remainder as a visiting Medical Director of 3 small rural hospitals in Victoria. He is co-founder, co-owner and a Director of Bed Brokers as well as a Director of Emergency Staffing Australia.

To contact Rick please email: rlowen@asem.org.au

My background is twelve years working as a procedural rural GP in South Australia, including overlap of rural practice with Emergency Department employment since 1998. My current employment is as staff specialist in the Emergency Department at Lyell McEwin Hospital in Adelaide, which is an urban district Hospital seeing about 55,000 patients per year (mixed adult and paed). Some cases need to be transferred on to other Hospitals for subspecialty care, but the case mix is comprehensive and satisfying.

I am also involved with a teaching project known "Rural Emergency Skills Program" in which a group of emergency medical and nursing staff ( incl nurse practitioner ) are working together to take Emergency Medicine training weekends to rural South Australia ( teaching medical and nursing staff in their local hospital environment ). I have completed a Masters in Clinical Education. In my role at Lyell McEwin I have joint responsibility for the education program of medical students and interns in ED, and coordinate the attachments of rural GPs to our ED for upskilling.

My hope for ASEM in South Australia is to attract more members by targeting CMO type staff of both public and private hospitals.

I am excited by the possibilities of Australia assisting in Emergency Medicine education in developing countries.

I have a strong belief in empowerment (especially of rurally based doctors) by education and training.


To contact Joy please email: jtreasure@asem.org.au

Dr. Sashi Kumar trained in Chennai, India , New Zealand and Australia. He is a Senior Staff Specialist in Emergency Medicine and Honorary Lecturer in Emergency Medicine at The Canberra Hospital and The Canberra Clinical School which is affiliated to the University of Sydney and The Australian National University in Canberra. He is the Site Medical Commander for Disasters in the Australian Capital Territory.


He is the deputy chair person of the National EMST/ATLS Committee based at the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in Melbourne and Directs the EMST/ATLS courses in Canberra for over 19 years. He has directed and instructed EMST/ATLS courses in Australia,New Zealand , Singapore,Fiji,Papua New Guinea and New York since 1992.
He was awarded the National EMST Scholarship in 2000.


He is also an Instructor of The CRISP (Care of the critically ill surgical patient) course ,The ELS (Emergency Life Support ) Major incident Medical Management and Support (MIMMS ) courses and is a Senior Instructor of the Emergotrain System – Simulation Exercising in Disaster Medicine.


He has instructed and directed The CTLS (Comprehensive Trauma Life Support ) Course in India over the last few years.


He is a practising Emergency Physician and The Helicopter Retrieval consultant and Flying Doctor in a Tertiary level major teaching hospital which is a also the major Trauma centre for the region. His special interests are Trauma, ENT, Disaster Medicine and Orthopaedic Trauma.

To contact Sashi please email skumar@asem.org.au

Kam did his paediatric training at The Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children at Camperdown, Sydney.
He was the inaugural Fellow in the Vincent Fairfax Pain Unit at the Children’s Hospital, Camperdown.
Since 1994, He has been working at the Emergency Department of The Canberra Hospital.
He has skills and interest in all aspects of Paediatric Emergencies.


To contact Kam please email: ksinn@asem.org.au

I graduated in Medicine from the University of Sydney in 1968. I was employed as a “Casualty Supervisor” in 1971 and then a “Casualty Coordinator “ in 1974. In 1984 I was appointed as an Emergency Department Director.

I have been a member of the Australasian Society for Emergency Medicine since 1981. I am also a Foundation Fellow of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine.

Over the years, I have been a member of many Health Department and local committees concerned with Emergency Medicine. In 2002, I received the Order of Australia Medal for services in the development of Emergency Medicine strategies

In recent years, I have been interested in teaching. I have been a Clinical Lecturer for Sydney University and the University of NSW. I am also a Student Supervisor for the University of Notre Dame. I am also undertaking the College course to enable me to supervise doctors in Emergency Medicine Certificate training.

I am married with four children and nine grand children. They keep me busy.


To contact Gayle please email: gmcinerney@asem.org.au

Aniello has been a rural doctor in Coonabaraban since 1997, where he runs a practice with his wife Eve, also a rural doctor. In addition to the surgery, Aniello is a VMO at the local hospital. Aniello has an interest in Emergency Medicine and is an instructor for EMST and CCrisP courses. He is also a senior lecturer with the University of Sydney and the University of Notre Dame. Other teaching duties include the supervision and examination of medical students and GP registrars. Aniello is also actively involved in AMA and ACRRM, having held a number of senior positions in both organisations. Aniello enjoys reading, philosophising, winemaking, tennis and soccer. Anniello was co-opted onto ASEM Council at this years Strategic Planning Day in Sydney.

To contact Aniello please email: aiannuzzi@asem.org.au

To contact Ian please email: ibrandon@asem.org.au

To contact Paul please email: p.helliwell@asem.org.au

I have been the Tasmanian Councillor since 1997 and have worked in Emergency Medicine in Tasmania for the past 15 years. Most of my working life has been spent in rural and regional hospitals. I have just returned from a year working in rural Canada which was a fantastic experience both professionally and personally. I am currently just completing a Masters Degree by Research on Training and Education of Non-Specialist Emergency Medicine Doctors working in rural and regional Hospitals. It was this research that took me to Canada as the dual pathways of Emergency Medicine Training in that country may be relevant to the Australian setting.

I have a passionate belief in improving all issues of recruiting, retaining and training health professionals in rural areas.

I believe ASEM can play an increasingly important role in being an advocate for doctors working in smaller emergency departments. Like other states, the Tasmanian hospital system has major difficulties in attracting and keeping medical staff and I believe much more can be done to improve the current situation.

Organisations like ASEM have a vital role in being a voice for doctors not represented by other traditional organisations!

To contact Peter please email: parvier@asem.org.au

Sandra was a Gp with a passion for Obstetrics for 20 years and retrained as an Emergency Medicine specialist after the politics of childbirth changed in NZ in the 90s. Gaining the FACEM qualification in 2007 opened many doors including aeromedical retrieval work in the Soloman Islands. Until very recently, Sandra worked as an SMO for Hutt Valley Ed and is now about to start employment as an EM specialist at Bundaberg Hospital in Queensland.

To contact Sandra please email: srattenbury@asem.org.au

To contact Vincent please email: drvlambourne@hotmail.com

Dr Joe-Anthony Rotella (MBBS, BSc) is a Basic Trainee in Emergency Medicine at the Austin Hospital in Victoria and has recently joined the Australasian Society of Emergency Medicine as its Trainee Representative. Prior to his involvement with ASEM, Joe has been involved with a number of organisations including AMSA, AMA, GPRA, and GPSN, which he founded and chaired. Joe's interests include not only Emergency Medicine and Toxicology but also extend to junior doctor welfare, public health and the expanding use of information technology in health. In his new role, Joe hopes to create a voice and avenue for representation of Trainees within the Society as well as contributing to more general issues affecting Emergency Medicine. Outside of Medicine, Joe enjoys reading, running, golf, travel and his recently purchased iPhone4.

To contact Joe please email: traineevic@asem.org.au Or if 'Society News' related please email: editor@asem.org.au

I am currently studying Medicine at the University of Notre Dame, Fremantle campus in Western Australia. Prior to this, I lived in Toowoomba, Queensland and completed a Bachelor of Science, majoring in human biology at the University of Southern Queensland and then completed a degree in Paramedics in Brisbane at Queensland University of Technology. Since then I have been heavily involved in student advocacy and sat on the Australian Medical Students Association executive and I am currently on the AMSA Convention 2012 organising committee. My interests vary widely , including Emergency Medicine but also disaster management and retrieval medicine. My hope is to be able to give insight into medical student life and be able to provide assistance in accessing and delivering information to medical students around Australia more effectively.

To contact Alexander please email: acox@asem.org.au