AUSiMED fellow trains in Melbourne

A Jerusalem-based paediatric emergency physician is spending two years in Australia learning a specialty that barely exists in Israel.

Dr Naama Pines-Schwartz, who has worked at Hadassah Medical Centre for 12 years, arrived in Melbourne six months ago for a toxicology fellowship at the Austin Hospital.

She came with her husband, also a Hadassah doctor, and their four children, aged five to 11.

The timing has meant as much to her family as to her career. For much of the past two years, her husband served in the Israeli military reserves.

“It’s been rough,” she said. “For us to be here is just a blessing for my children.”

The Melbourne Jewish community has added to that sense of relief. “Everyone is just welcoming, and being here is just feeling safe and relaxed,” she said.

Professionally, Pines-Schwartz is filling a significant gap. Israel has no formal training pathway in medical toxicology.

“The whole field of toxicology is not very developed,” she said. “I came here just to get exposed to that and to study that.”

She plans to establish a toxicology service at Hadassah on her return, strengthening Israel’s capacity to respond to both everyday overdose cases and large-scale chemical incidents.

She is the 12th recipient of AUSiMED’s Lowy Paediatric Fellowships program, co-funded by the Lowy Foundation, AUSiMED and Hadassah Australia.

AUSiMED executive director Dr Karen Teshuva said the program has achieved results well beyond individual career development. “These fellows are now contributing their expertise and filling senior leadership positions across six major medical institutions in Israel,” she said, adding, “Our fellows come from Jewish, Muslim, Christian and Druze backgrounds.”

AUSiMED chair Antony Cohen said, “The Lowy Fellowships Program has reshaped paediatric healthcare delivery across continents.”

AUSiMED info: karen@ausimed.org