Kerryn Phelps

Kerryn Lyndel Phelps, AM (born 14 December 1957) is an Australian medical practitioner and politician. She was the first woman and first LGBT person to be elected president of the Australian Medical Association (AMA). In 2003, she was awarded the Centenary Medal for services to health and medicine. In 2011 she was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for her service to medicine, particularly through leadership roles with the AMA, education and community health, and as a general practitioner.^[3] She is a pioneer in the field of health communication and integrative medicine in Australia, and is a Conjoint Professor in the National Institute of Complementary Medicine at the Western Sydney University.

Phelps was elected to the Council of the City of Sydney on 10 September 2016 as a member of the Clover Moore Independents Team, and was then appointed as Deputy Lord Mayor of the Council.^[4] She resigned as Deputy on 27 June 2017 and is now an independent politician.

On 16 September 2018, Phelps announced she would run as an independent candidate in the 2018 Wentworth By-election.^[5]

Professional life

Phelps graduated from the University of Sydney in 1981 and completed postgraduate training at the Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney, and at the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. She started working in health communications in the mainstream media in 1985, bringing messages about healthy lifestyle to the attention of the general public. Her television credits include EveryBody, Good Morning Australia, the Today Show, a documentary on The Kokoda Campaign and Last Chance Surgery. She has been the subject of stories on 60 Minutes, Australian Story and This Is Your Life. Phelps has presented a variety of health and fitness programs on radio and has been a regular newspaper and magazine columnist. In 1992, she was a regular on the sex education program Sex on the Nine Network.

In 1999, Phelps was elected president of the New South Wales Branch of the Australian Medical Association (AMA). The following year she was elected Federal President of the AMA, where she served the maximum term of three years. Some of her more significant successes involved working with Australian State and Federal Governments on resolving an emerging medical indemnity crisis. The unresolved medical insurance issue threatened obstetrics and neurosurgery in particular, and was exacerbated by escalating medical malpractice claims. She was also instrumental in establishing an advisory committee on Indigenous health in Australia, and promoting debate on the importance of the public health system in response to the bioterrorism threat. Phelps' major areas of interest included integrative medicine, public health, and human rights issues. As AMA President, she convened an expert advisory committee and pioneered the AMA's first position statement on complementary medicine. She also raised awareness of issues such as Aboriginal health problems, the medical workforce shortage and environmental health.

Phelp's time as AMA president was marked by a public clash with the federal Minister for Health, Michael Wooldridge.^[6] He publicly claimed that she had no specialist medical qualifications.^[7] In rebuttal, Phelps contended that general practice is itself a medical specialty. The minister later issued a public apology.

Between 2009 and 2012, Phelps was President of the Australasian Integrative Medicine Association. She is founder and principal clinician at Sydney Integrative Medicine and Cooper Street Clinic in Sydney, an Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Sydney and Conjoint Professor in the National Institute of Complementary Medicine at the Western Sydney University. She is a regular speaker to health professionals and the general public on health and well-being, as well as leadership and strategy for professional organisations. She has been the health writer for The Australian Women's Weekly since 1991. She is a regular commentator on general practice, public health, medical politics and human rights issues.

Phelps is the co-author, with Craig Hassad, of the textbook General Practice: The Integrative Approach published in 2010; and has published on general wellness, cancer and on a range of other general health and health communication issues.^[8]

Local government politics

Elected to the Council of the City of Sydney on 10 September 2016 as a member of the Clover Moore Independent Team, Phelps was elected Deputy Lord Mayor of the Council.^[9] However, membership of the Clover Moore team was short-lived. Phelps resigned to sit as an independent from 27 June 2017, after being told by Moore that she would not support Phelps' bid to continue as deputy lord mayor.^[10]

Personal life

Phelps was born at Manly Hospital on 14 December 1957 and grew up in the Pittwater region of Sydney. Her mother, Shirley, was a Councillor for Pittwater Council (1995–2002) and Deputy Mayor (1996–1997) and her father, George, a refrigeration mechanic.^[2][11] Shirley Phelps was a recipient of the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in 2013.^[12]

Phelps is married to Jackie Stricker-Phelps,^[13] a former primary school teacher. Phelps and Stricker-Phelps were united in a religious ceremony in New York on 4 January 1998.^[14] They returned to New York City in 2011 for a legal marriage. From her first marriage with Michael Fronzek she has a daughter, Jaime Fronzek, and a son, Carl Fronzek.^[1] The couple have a younger daughter, Gabrielle Stricker-Phelps. Phelps has a younger brother, Australian TV actor Peter Phelps.^[2]

In 2009, Phelps was named one of the 25 most influential lesbians in Australia by readers of the website samesame.com.au.^[15][16] During the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey period, Phelps appeared in an advertisement for the "Yes" campaign,^[17] and was "high profile" in the debate.^[18]

Jackie Stricker-Phelps grew up in a liberal European Jewish household and Kerryn Phelps converted to Judaism.^[19][20]

Honours

Phelps was awarded the Centenary Medal in 2001 for service to Australian society and medicine.^[21][22] On 13 June 2011, she was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for her services to medicine, particularly through leadership roles with the Australian Medical Association in education and community health, and as a general practitioner.^[3]

In 2008, Phelps was awarded a Bent Spoon Award by the Australian Skeptics.^[23]

Phelps and Stricker-Phelps have been ambassadors for Barnardos Australia's Mother of the Year Award since 2013.

In 2014, Phelps was awarded a Doctor of Letters honoris causa by the University of Western Sydney.

Selected published works

• Phelps, Kerryn (1993). Sex : confronting sexuality. Harper Collins Publishers. p. 192. ISBN 978-0-7322-4974-8.
• Phelps, Kerryn; Hassed, Craig, eds. (2011). General practice : the integrative approach. Chatswood: Elsevier Australia. p. 993. ISBN 978-0-7295-3804-6.
• Phelps, Kerryn (2013). Ultimate wellness : the 3-step plan. Sydney: Pan Macmillan. p. 322. ISBN 978-1-74261-192-1.
• Phelps, Kerryn (2015). The cancer recovery guide : getting your life back. South Melbourne: Macmillan Australia. ISBN 978-1-74353-862-3.

References

Further reading

• Mitchell, Susan (2003). Kerryn & Jackie : the shared life of Kerryn Phelps and Jackie Stricker (Revised ed.). Allen & Unwin. ISBN 978-1-74114-138-2.