PHOTO BY DANIEL MAHON

Horrific machete injuries may seem an unlikely catalyst for a career in surgery, but when young Melbourne medical student Chris Brooks volunteered at Kijabe Mission hospital in Kenya that is exactly what happened.

For Chris, who is now St Vincent’s Hospital’s resident surgeon and is a Christian with a strong social conscience, working in the Kenyan hospital was a life-changing experience. “It really opened my eyes. There was a lot of tribal warfare in the area, resulting in some horrific injuries. There was also a wide range of other ailments and diseases, with some people going months to years before they presented to hospital.

“I was assisting in theatre, doing general and orthopaedic surgery. It really impressed me just what a difference this could make to people’s lives. I decided there and then that this was what I wanted to do.”

Chris was not always that focused. He admits that during his last two years at Melbourne High School he struggled to find the right balance in life, but in the end his new-found faith gave him the strength and resolve to pursue a career in medicine.

He did a science degree while working at Box Hill Hospital as an orderly and theatre technician for five years before entering post-graduate medical school at the University of Melbourne, then training at St Vincent’s. He excelled and impressed all around him with his dedication, discipline and compassion, and was warmly welcomed to the surgical team.

“The surgeons were very supportive,” he says. “The mentoring was fantastic and people like Mark Westcott (vascular surgeon) were inspirational.”

Chris’ work was formally recognised in April, when he was named as the Gordon Taylor Prize winner. The Gordon Taylor Prize is awarded by the Australasian College of Surgeons to the candidate who gains the highest mark in Australia and New Zealand in the February sitting of the very rigorous written surgical examinations each year.

Being named as one of the top young surgeons in Australasia has not gone to Chris’ head. “Everyone has a different career path,” he says. “I’m not drawn to the big dollars in the private sector. I love working here at St Vincent’s with its strong mission focus.

“One of the things that gives me the greatest satisfaction is life-saving surgery. When you see a patient who is anxious because they have cancer, then you remove it without complication … the joy of being able to tell them and see their look of relief … that’s the best.”

St Vincent’s outstanding reputation as a training hospital was another drawcard for Chris. “I love working with the students,” he says. “After studying for so many years and benefiting from excellent training and mentoring, I really enjoy the opportunity not only to practise my skills, but also to pass them on to the next generation.”
When not at work, Chris enjoys time with his wife Emma Brooks, a paediatric registrar, and a wide range of activities from tennis to rock climbing.

Apart from the mission focus and the excellent training and mentoring, it’s really no surprise that Chris has forged a career at St Vincent’s. His mother Lynn is a nurse with St Vincent’s ‘Hospital in the Home’ team, his brother Sam is a carer at Prague House – a residential home in Kew for the homeless run by St Vincent’s – and his sister Sarah is a clerk at the hospital and is studying towards a social work degree.

Chris tells an interesting story of how the family changed one man’s life. “The first person I operated on was a homeless man. My mother later visited him to do his dressings, and my brother ended up caring for him at Prague House – it was quite remarkable!”

Looking ahead, Chris is interested in developments in laparoscopic surgery and specialising in bowel cancer.

He will be formally presented with the Gordon Taylor Prize in October.