Portrait of Stewart Bath

Name: Stewart Thomas Bath

Qualifications:
MB BS, University of Melbourne, 1966
FFARACS, 1971 (FANZCA, 1992)

Date of Birth: 8 May 1943

Dr Stewart Thomas Bath was born in Ipswich, Queensland in 1943, in the midst of World War II. He completed his schooling in Queensland and undertook studies in medicine at the University of Melbourne, graduating MB BS in 1966. Following qualification, he turned to anaesthesia as a career, and was elected to the Board of the Faculty of Anaesthetists at Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in 1988. He was a member of the last Board of the Faculty, and of the first Council of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists.

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Stewart Thomas Bath was born on 8 May 1943, in Ipswich, Queensland. He completed primary and secondary schooling locally, relocating to Melbourne in 1960 to commence medicine at the University of Melbourne. He graduated MB BS in 1966. After graduation, he relocated to Launceston and took up the position of Resident Medical Officer (RMO) at Launceston General Hospital. In 1968, the second year of his residency, Bath spent four months working in the Anaesthetics and Intensive Care unit, under Dr Margaret Patterson, Director of Anaesthesia.

In 1969, after his residency, he relocated again, this time to Perth, where he had been appointed to the position of Anaesthetics Registrar at Royal Perth Hospital. The Director at that time was Dr Ted Hudson. After seven months, he moved to the Princess Margaret Hospital, also in Perth, and worked under the direction of Dr Nerida Dilworth, Director of Anaesthesia, working specifically in paediatric anaesthesia. This was followed by a further two months at the King Edward Memorial Hospital for Women, where he gained experience in obstetrics and gynaecology with Dr A Millar Forbes.

Bath returned to Melbourne in 1970, as an Anaesthetics Registrar at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, working in a range of areas and specialties including cardiac and thoracic work, as well as neurosurgery. The following year he had a position as anaesthetic registrar, which was six months at the Royal Women’s Hospital, under Dr Kevin McCall, and six months at the Royal Children’s Hospital under Dr John Stocks.

Dr Stocks invited Bath to join the department as a staff specialist on successful completion of the FFARACS exam.

He remained in that position until 1977, at which time he returned to Launceston as Staff Anaesthetist at the Launceston General Hospital.

In 1979, he became the Visiting Anaesthetist at Launceston General Hospital, and a member of the Tasmanian Regional Committee of the Faculty of Anaesthetists at the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. He became Chair of the Committee in 1982, and held that position until 1985.

In 1989 he also became Visiting Anaesthetist at the Queen Victoria Hospital in Launceston, a position he held for five years.

Bath was elected to the Board of the Faculty of Anaesthetists in 1988, and continued on the Board until1992. This saw him become a member of the last Board of the Faculty and the first Council of the newly established Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists.

In 1999, he again took on the position of Visiting Anaesthetist at the Launceston General Hospital, which he maintained until his retirement in 2007.

 

REFERENCES

The information in these biographies has been researched via the ANZCA Archives with the assistance of the individual Fellows.

 

IMAGES

  1. Portrait of Stewart Thomas Bath, 1992