A rare all-rounder among medical specialists
The Age
Wednesday January 26, 2011
SOME medical specialists excel at patient care and teaching while others make their names in research, but Professor George Jerums is considered a rare all-rounder.The Austin Hospital endocrinologist will become a member in the general division of the Order of Australia for his work on treating diabetes over the past four decades, and showing great care and humility in the process.The father of three's major contribution to the specialty has been in the early detection and treatment of diabetic kidney disease a leading cause of renal failure. His development of a urine test has allowed doctors to find the complication up to 10 years earlier than in the past, making way for life-changing interventions.But Professor Jerums's colleagues say it is the combination of his intelligence with a caring and dedicated attitude to patient treatment and teaching other doctors that has made him an exceptional physician."He is probably responsible for training more endocrinologists in this country than any other single individual," Professor Ego Seeman, an endocrinologist who has worked with Professor Jerums for about 30 years, said."His commitment to this work and selfless commitment to those around him has made him a magnet that has drawn many into the field of endocrinology."Professor Jerums arrived in Australia in 1949 at nine years of age after his family fled Latvia during the Second World War. He lived in a displaced persons' camp in Germany for five years before travelling to Australia with his parents and younger brother.He graduated in medicine from the University of Melbourne in 1962 and worked in Cleveland and London before joining the Austin as a senior endocrinologist from 1976 and director of endocrinology from 1991.Professor Jerums, who finished as director of the department last year, said he was pleased with the award, which was particularly timely given diabetes now affects 8 per cent of Australians, with many at risk of developing diabetic kidney disease."This award might perhaps be a reflection of the increasing importance of diabetes in our community," he said.
© 2011 The Age
