Obituary: Dr David (Peter) Pullen
10/10/1927 - 8/10/2006
David Pullen established the Doctors' Health Advisory Service (NSW) and
was President from 1982 to 1994. The organization was created to help
rehabilitate impaired doctors and to assist them, emotionally and
financially, during difficult times in their lives. In 2000, he was
honoured for this work as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM).
David was the doctors' doctor who directed his talents
and inexhaustible energy towards helping those around him, whether
family, colleagues or patients.
He always believed "family comes first". His dedication to his
late wife, Marion, and their four boys - Robert, Michael, Stuart and
Anthony - and subsequently to his grandchildren, was a feature of his
life. He was proud of his family.
David had many leadership roles, including President of
AMA(NSW), Federal AMA Councillor, on the Board of Ryde Hospital from
1960 to 1992 and Chairman of the Board of the Poplars Private Hospital
for many years. In the 1990's, he held portfolios in the NSW
Medical Defence Union. He believed that "doctors are best managing
doctors' affairs".
David graduated in 1951 from the University of Sydney. After internship
at Ryde Hospital, he moved to Collarenebri for three years. He then set
up a general practice in Ryde. He soon took an interest in anaesthesia,
obtaining his Fellowship in 1968.
At his own instigation, he stopped anaesthetics in 1992 and returned to
part-time clinical practice in the Pre-Admission Clinic at Westmead
Hospital. He retired in 2001 at 73.
He concluded his CV with a statement of personal optimistic philosophy
: "I have had a very varied career inside and outside of medicine since
graduation and would recommend such a course to everyone. We have been
privileged to practise during the golden years of medicine - for this I
am extremely grateful."
adapted from Peter L. Klineberg, The NSW Doctor December 2006/January 2007.
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