Kirby White is an Australian general practitioner in Bendigo and an inventor. She was named Victoria's "Local Hero" and nominated for the 2021 Australian of the Year awards. Mattel created a 'Dr Kirby White' Barbie doll to honour her efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kirby White | |
|---|---|
| Born | Charlton |
| Education | University of Notre Dame Australia University of Melbourne Deakin University |
| Medical career | |
| Profession | General practitioner |
Early life and education
editWhite attended Deakin University, where she graduated with a degree in biological sciences in 2005. She moved to the University of Melbourne for graduate studies. After graduating, she worked as a medical scientist in Melbourne. She eventually returned to academia, working toward a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery at the University of Notre Dame Australia.[1]
Career
editWhite works as a general practitioner in Bendigo. In the earlier days of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia, White realised that they would run out of disposable gowns by the third week.[2] She launched Gowns for Doctors, an initiative that received over $40,000 in crowd funding to create re-usable, launderable hospital gowns.[3] Kirby then worked with commercial textile companies and volunteers to create thousands of gowns.[3]
White was nominated as Victoria's "Local hero" at the Australian of the Year awards for creating washable, reusable gowns for doctors treating patients with COVID-19.[4][5]
In August 2021, Barbie announced they were creating a White Barbie doll honouring her efforts to protect frontline staff during the COVID-19 pandemic.[6][7]
Personal life
editWhite has two children and enjoys classic vintage cars.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b "Our Doctors – The GP Clinic Bendigo". thegpclinic.com.au. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
- ^ "My Blog". arsematilde.com.br. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
- ^ a b Nakos, Nicholas (1 May 2020). "Gowns for Doctors reaches a milestone". Bendigo Advertiser. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
- ^ "Dr Kirby White - Australian of the Year". www.australianoftheyear.org.au. Archived from the original on 27 November 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
- ^ Greville, Juanita (18 January 2021). "Local heroes stepping up to answer the call of their communities". Queensland Country Life. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
- ^ "Vaccinologist Barbie: Prof Sarah Gilbert honoured with a doll". the Guardian. 4 August 2021. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
- ^ Price, Kimberley (5 August 2021). "Aussie GP honoured as one of six special Barbies". Daily Liberal. Retrieved 5 August 2021.