Born: 12 October 1916, Australia
Died: 31 October 1998
Country most active: Australia
Also known as: Gwenifer Catherine May Bruce
This biography has been shared from The Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation, published by the Centre for Transformative Innovation, Swinburne University of Technology, under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Gwen Wilson was the first woman to earn an Australian Postgraduate Diploma in Anaesthesia. Her early career as anaesthetist was in suburban hospitals in Sydney. However, having been denied promotion because she was a woman, Wilson moved to St George Hospital, Sydney, where she remained for some years, ultimately as Honorary Consulting Anaesthetist. For over 30 years Wilson was Honorary Historian (later Historian Emeritus) to the Faculty of Anaesthetists of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons and its succeeding organisation, the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists. Her Doctor of Medicine degree was the first awarded in Australia for history of medicine. Her many publications on the history of Australian anaesthesia include a bibliography which resulted from a rigorous examination of Australian medical literature, and histories of anaesthesia and its professional organisations in Australia.
Chronology
1939 –
Career position – Resident Medical Officer, Balmain Hospital, Sydney
1939
Education – MB BS, University of Sydney
1945
Education – Diploma in Anaesthesia, University of Sydney
1948 – 1956
Career position – Honorary Anaesthetist, Balmain, Rachel Forster and Royal North Shore Hospitals, Sydney
1951 – 1956
Career position – Member of Executive Committee, Australian Society of Anaesthetists
1952 – 1956
Career position – Founding Member, Faculty of Anaesthetists, Royal Australasian College of Surgeons
1954 – 1956
Career position – Secretary, Australian Society of Anaesthetists
1956 – 1968
Career position – Honorary Anaesthetist, St George Hospital, Sydney
1956 – 1992
Career position – Fellow, Faculty of Anaesthetists, Royal Australasian College of Surgeons
1962 – 1992
Career position – Lecturer in History of Anaesthesia, Nuffield Department of Anaesthetics, University of Sydney
1966 – 1992
Career position – Honorary Historian, Faculty of Anaesthetists, Royal Australasian College of Surgeons
1968 – ?
Career position – Honorary Consultant Anaesthetist, St George Hospital, Sydney
1981
Life event – Retired
1987
Award – Gilbert Brown Award, Australian Society of Anaesthetists
1988
Award – Faculty Medal, Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists
1990
Award – Robert Orton Award, Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists
1992 – 1998
Career position – Honorary Historian (later Historian Emeritus), Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists
1992 – 1998
Career position – Fellow, Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists
1994
Education – MD, University of Sydney
1996
Award – Laureate of the History of Anesthesia, Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology, Schaumburg, Illinois, U.S.A.