WHA Medal of Distinction 2023

Picture courtesy of WHA of Prof Walker receiving the 2023 Medal of Distinction

Congratulations Professor Susan Walker AO who was awarded the Women's Healthcare Australasia 2023 Medal of Distinction in recognition of exceptional clinical and academic leadership, and outstanding contribution to maternal medicine through research, education and compassionate clinical care.

The Medal of Distinction is WHA’s highest honour. The WHA Medal of Distinction was established by Women’s Hospitals Australasia (WHA) in 2004 to honour those individuals who make an outstanding contribution to improving the health of women through service provision, leadership or advocacy. The Medal may be awarded to individuals directly affiliated with WHA, and also to members of the broader community who, through their exceptional endeavours contribute to significant improvements in women’s healthcare.

Head of Department Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Newborn Health, Professor Walker founded and continues to lead the Perinatal Medicine Unit at Mercy Hospital, a leading national centre of maternal-fetal medicine. This position provides an opportunity for Professor Walker to not only provide on-the-ground patient care, but lead research programs tackling the most grave of conditions facing pregnant women. Being a Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Melbourne, she is a fierce proponent of high-quality clinical teaching in Women’s Health. She is deeply committed to mentoring the next generation of clinicians and academics.

At Mercy Health, Susan has additional leadership responsibilities in strategy development, quality and safety initiatives, model of care planning and delivery, leadership in high-risk pregnancy care for North-eastern Victoria as well as multidisciplinary and vocational teaching.

At the pointy end of complex pregnancy care, Professor Walker is a surgeon and Clinical Director of the Victorian Fetal Therapy Service, providing world-class care to patients whose unborn babies require surgical interventions just to survive.