Graeme Shirtley Oration – Dr Susan Neuhaus CSC

Dr Susan Neuhaus CSC is a distinguished ex-Army officer and highly respected senior surgeon.

Susan’s Army career spanned over 20 years, in both the Regular Army and Army Reserve, and she has served in Cambodia, Bougainville and Afghanistan. From 2007-2009 Susan held unit command of the 3rd Health Support Battalion; one of three deployable military hospitals to support the Army’s Land Forces.

During her command, the battalion provided individual and specialist health teams to support ADF Operations in East Timor, the Solomon Islands, Iraq and Afghanistan. Susan managed her responsibilities on a part-time basis, in parallel with her clinical practice.

Her military service was recognised with the award of the Conspicuous Service Cross in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List in 2009.

Susan continues to retain a strong commitment to the Defence and Veteran sector. As Associate Professor Conflict Medicine, Susan leads a developing national research collaborative investigating the gender specific effects of military service and deployment. This has included the landmark study: Mothers in the Middle East Area of Operations (MEAO) -The health impacts of maternal deployment.

Susan has provided advice at state and national levels including to the House of Representatives, Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade and was the 2015 Co-chair of the South Australian Ministerial Advisory Panel for the Veteran PTSD Centre of Excellence. This role required close collaboration with key Commonwealth and State Government and non-government stakeholders to provide direct ministerial advice about the model of care, location and facilities required for a $15million purpose designated Veteran mental health and PSTD Centre of Excellence.

In 2012, Susan was the South Australian finalist for Australian of the Year.

Susan is actively involved in research and is widely published. She is passionate about sharing the stories of Australia’s pioneering medical women and has authored multiple papers. In 2014 her book ‘Not for Glory: a century of service by medical women to the Australian Army and its Allies’ was launched at the Australian War Memorial.