AMAV VICDOC Winter 2024 - Magazine - Page 10
A
/Prof Kerryn Ireland-Jenkin has
been a member of the senior
medical staff at Austin Health since 2006.
Kerryn’s achievements include successfully
consolidating statewide perinatal autopsy
services at the Victorian Perinatal Autopsy
Service (VPAS) at the Royal Women’s
Hospital (RWH) and managing the Austin
Health Pathology Network through
COVID-19 and a regional expansion. Since
May 2023, Kerryn has been the Medical
Director of the Medical Workforce Unit and
Deputy Chief Medical Officer at Austin
Health. A Fellow of the Royal College
of Pathologists of Australasia, a graduate
of the Australian Institute of Company
Directors, and Associate Fellow of the
Royal Australasian College of Medical
Administrators, Kerryn has qualifications in
clinical leadership and business administration.
In 2014, after establishing herself in the
field of gynaecological pathology, Kerryn
was ready to step into a leadership role.
She studied with the Australian Institute
of Company Directors and studied with
Deakin University.
Then, towards the end of 2015, Kerryn
had the opportunity to head the newly
created VPAS and RWH.
Kerryn filled this role for VPAS' first
three years of operation, working with a
team across its three Victorian hubs to
successfully consolidate statewide perinatal
autopsy services, including developing
a governance framework and
government liaison.
“This was a relatively small clinical
governance role, but it was a significant
learning opportunity for me,” says Kerryn.
“It was the first time I’d reported directly
to hospital executive level and had a liaison
role with the Department of Health. I also
presented directly to the Senate inquiry
into Stillbirth Research and Education
in Canberra.”
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AMA VI C TO RIA
LEADERSHIP IN TIMES OF CRISIS
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Kerryn’s next role was as Medical Director
of the Austin Health Pathology (AHP)
network; her first time leading people
outside of gynaecological pathology.
Here, Kerryn, with her leadership team,
united and led a network that expanded to
comprise laboratories in the Hume, Loddon
Mallee and Goulburn Valley regions, with a
team that grew by 100% (from roughly 200
to 400 personnel) in a short space of time.
The role came with a double dose of crisis
management; the initiation by fire that was
taking on the management of a pathology
service at the beginning of COVID-19, and
then, in October 2022, significant flooding
in 31 Victorian local government areas –
including many the service operated
in or serviced.
“COVID-19 presented some real
challenges. We had to learn how to
safely deliver testing, whilst also undergoing
significant network expansion. There were
many adaptive and technical challenges
that required developmental learning.
But, as a team we were able to successfully
fulfil the needs of the Austin Health
pathology network.”
During the floods in 2022, when some
of the other pathology providers reduced
services regionally, the need to keep the
public service running became even more
necessary – and Kerryn’s team problem
solving became intensely practical
and logistical.
“The way we managed to keep our entire
service open during the floods was a credit
to our whole team and the relationship that
we built with the regional health services.
We had situations where some of the smaller
hospitals were cut off by road and we had to
make air drops and pickups at some difficult
to access locations so that they could continue
to operate.”
