Honorary Fellowship recipient calls award one of her ‘greatest achievements’
Jacqueline Gibson-Roos said she remembers a time when ‘I didn’t see that I would have an influence’.
‘I hadn’t reconciled the role of being a carer and what the cultural lens was that I should have been viewing that value through,’ she said.
‘I didn’t feel confident about sharing my opinion and whether others would see it as a hindrance or a help.’
But she is happy to acknowledge that things are very different today.
‘It’s been a journey,’ Gibson-Roos said.
“‘It was the greatest surprise, and it was lovely to see so many people who had been so encouraging along the way there to see me get this Honorary Fellowship.’”
That journey has helped her create a professional CV as a Community Consumer Advocate that has featured advisory positions and roles on multiple boards, committees and tribunals, including the Victorian Mental Health Tribunal, the Australian Dental Council, the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency’s Community Reference Group, the Australian Medical Council Specialist Education Accreditation Committee and, of course, several entities across Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (ACEM).
As a proud Aboriginal woman of the Yamatji Country, Gibson-Roos is as passionate an advocate for education, health, welfare, reconciliation and self-determination for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as she has ever been. Now, she feels she is better able to turn that passion into positive action.
Although listing what some of that positive action has entailed seems unimportant to her – ‘I think I have forgotten many of the things people say I’ve done’ – she said she is ‘humbled and so grateful’ that others have been taking note.
At ACEM’s Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM) in Adelaide across 24-28 November 2024, that sense of acknowledgement for her hard work became more tangible when ACEM President FACEM Dr Stephen Gourley presented Gibson-Roos with an Honorary Fellowship of the College (pictured).
Going above and beyond
ACEM’s Honorary Fellowship recognises outstanding contributions and service of individuals in the promotion and advancement of the speciality of emergency medicine, with such contributions being above and beyond that ordinarily given by medical practitioners in the delivery of clinical emergency care.
Gibson-Roos met the honour’s prescribed criteria as ‘a distinguished member of the medical profession and other eminent persons who have made substantial and demonstrable contributions over a period of many years to the specialty of emergency medicine, as well as the associated activities and purpose of the College’.
‘I’m just so flattered,’ she said of being awarded the Honorary Fellowship. ‘I truly am so knocked out by it, it’s one of the greatest achievements I’ve had.
Jacqueline Gibson-Roos is Commissioner, Carer, with the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission and said receiving the Honorary Fellowship was ‘such a nice opportunity to reflect on all the work I’d done’.
‘It was the greatest surprise, and it was lovely to see so many people who had been so encouraging along the way there to see me get this Honorary Fellowship.’
Support, mentorship and allyship
From Gibson-Roos’ perspective, her pathway to receiving the honour would not have been possible without the mentorship and allyship of ACEM members and FACEMs she describes as ‘good all-round people’.
FACEM Dr Liz Mowatt is one of them.
‘She’s just the best,’ Gibson-Roos said.
‘I just adore ACEM. I love the way they are very utilitarian, willing to make a decision quickly as a group and come to a consensus – but also willing to say, ‘that was a mistake’ and owning it.
‘I always felt that I was deeply respected for my knowledge, and I talk about my time with ACEM as being an absolute privilege and an education. It opened my eyes to so many things.’
Her success as a voice that people want to hear, Gibson-Roos said, has been built on that knowledge – and support that has ‘always been unwavering’.
‘I think that, since Andew Singer, I’ve had every past and current ACEM Presidents’ numbers stored in my phone – and they were always happy to have a chat with me.’
The fact that ACEM changed its constitution to welcome her to its board as the first ever community member is something she looks back on with pride.
‘To actually change your constitution – it really shows a willingness to progress and evolve,’ Gibson-Roos said.
“‘That collegiality and camaraderie is a part of ACEM we should all treasure for always.’”
‘ACEM is light years ahead in its stakeholder engagement with community and its understanding of intersectionality and the way it engages with diverse communities.’
When one door opens…
To accept her current role with the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission in Melbourne as what she believes is the world’s first Commissioner, Carer, Gibson-Roos understood it meant she had to stand down from her official involvement with ACEM.
‘But I see such synergy and such opportunity to engage really well with what I do now and ACEM,’ she said. ‘I’m still connected.
‘We have new reporting requirements for EDs when they are using restrictive practices for patients, so that’s exciting and we’ll see how that rolls out. There is a long way to go to better understand our responses to mental health.’
A culture of collegiality
Gibson-Roos said she will always appreciate the ‘kindness and support’ she received from ACEM.
‘That collegiality and camaraderie is a part of ACEM we should all treasure for always.’
Her advice for both trainees and FACEMs is to ‘get involved with your College’.
‘To have your mind challenged but also open to have discussions in a respectful way – these are all incredibly important experiences,’ she said.
‘I think the College is an extraordinary model. Put your faith in the College and you’ll be amazed at what you get back that you can’t put a price on.
‘I honestly feel that I take away more than I give at ACEM.’
