Director’s Award for Excellence

Dr John Smith received this year’s Director’s Award for Excellence for his response to an International Maritime Distress call last December, while acting as ship’s doctor on board the MV Oceanic Viking. AAD Director, Dr Tony Press said Dr Smith provided extraordinary lifesaving medical support to an unconscious fisherman during an eight-day emergency dash from the isolated Heard and McDonald Island fishery to Fremantle, Western Australia. Dr Smith’s actions were commended by the AAD Polar Medicine Unit, the medical specialists involved in Hobart, Melbourne and Perth, the Australian Customs Service and the Consul-General of Portugal.
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