Kerryn graduated from the University of Sydney in February 1981 and completed her post-graduate training at Sydney's Royal North Shore Hospital. She expanded this with vocational training for General Practice with the Family Medicine Program of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.

She is also well known to Australians as a result of her 20 year media career. She has hosted her own radio program on the ABC and was the Health reporter on Channel 10 's Good Morning Australia, Channel 9's Today Show and the ABC's Everybody program. She has been the health writer for the Australian Women's Weekly for the last 10 years.

Dr Phelps is the author of SEX:Confronting Sexuality (1933), and had recently been the subject of a biography entitled Kerryn and Jackie; The Shared life of Kerryn Phelps and Jackie Stricker, the story of her love and lifr with her partner.

1998 was an extremely busy year for Kerryn, launching and giving several briefs on health issues and speaking at the World Conference for General Practice. Kerryn was also the subject of an ABC documentary "The Way We Are". In May 1999, Kerryn was elected President of the AMA (NSW) and she became the first elected female chairman of a public company.

She was the high profile President of the Australian Medical Association for the maximum period of 3 years being the first woman in Australia to be voted into this position. She was also President of the NSW branch of the AMA being only the second woman to hold this position in 150 years.

Phelps is Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Medicine at Sydney University in the Departments of Public Health and General Practice.

In the picture:

Carl Fronzek, 19 y.o., (son of Kerryn and her former husband) happy with his mums, Jackie Stricker and Kerryn Phelps.

Photo: Danielle Smith