Inverleigh doctor named Wellbeing Champion

DOCTOR Gaby Bolton has won the Postgraduate Medical Council of Victoria’s Wellbeing Champion Award for her work at Peninsula Health.

Raised in Inverleigh, the bachelor of medicine and bachelor of surgery graduate has been recognised for her day-to-day endeavours and leadership skills as a junior medical officer in 2020.

Striving to ensure her work environment was safe and personal protective gear was easily accessible, Dr Bolton has also been celebrated by her peers for her collegiate support, advocating for fair pay and workplace conditions throughout the pandemic.

Dr Bolton’s mother, Andrea Bolton was proud to see her daughter graduate from Monash University in December of 2018, but she said her secondary and tertiary education was not without great challenges.

“Achieving the ATAR she needed was harder fought for and won than others, as Gaby had spent the previous two years caring for me,” she said.

“I was battling an aggressive stage three breast cancer, including a brutal 18 months of chemotherapy, only finishing in mid-2012.

“But she passed her medical degree with flying colours, also taking out the prized Teresa Neale Award, given each year to the medicine student who made the most significant contribution to rural, remote and indigenous health awareness, through their commitment to the promotion of rural and indigenous health.”

Dr Bolton will be presented with her award at the next Postgraduate Medical Council of Victoria Junior Medical Officer Forum meeting in March.

Within Victoria, 150 people were nominated for the honour.