Alan Turner

From the moment I left my hometown of Bundaberg to join the Royal Australian Air Force, I have been driven by a desire to serve and make a difference. Thirty years on, Air Force has provided me a myriad of incredible opportunities, including specialising in emergency and retrieval medicine. While it has been an absolute privilege to provide care for members of the Australian Defence Force, I believe my greatest contributions have been the initiatives I have implemented to support and develop my fellow Defence health professionals.

My drive to empower our people took flight in 2019 when I founded the Health Professional Engagement Program (HPEP) – a formalised mentoring, coaching and peer-support network that has since supported countless Air Force personnel. Energised by the success of HPEP, in 2023 I volunteered to lead the Integrated Medical high-Performance, high-Acuity Clinical Training (IMPACT) Project. By coordinating the motivation and technical expertise of a small but brilliant team, we developed an innovative training program, providing Defence doctors, nurses and medics the important opportunity to treat simulated casualties in their operational teams while using the resources and equipment they will deploy with.

I lead with passion, collaboration and the belief that when we empower our people, we amplify the care they can provide. The Churchill Fellowship offers an exciting chance to elevate IMPACT to the next level. By learning from global best practices in military simulation and scenario-based training, I aim to develop a layered training system that empowers clinicians, strengthens teams and instils confidence in our collective capability. This Fellowship will enable me to once again lead transformative change and help shape a future that ensures our clinical teams are ready for any life-saving challenge; a worthy endeavour that will deliver lasting benefits to our clinicians, their patients and the Australian community.