About the Authors

John Murtagh AO

MBBS, MD, BSc, BEd, FRACGP, DipObstRCOG

Emeritus Professor in General Practice, School of Primary Health,

Monash University, Melbourne

Professorial Fellow, Department of General Practice, University of Melbourne

Adjunct Clinical Professor, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Notre Dame,

Fremantle, Western Australia

John Murtagh was a science master teaching chemistry, biology and physics in Victorian secondary schools when he was admitted to the first intake of the newly established Medical School at Monash University, graduating in 1966. Following a comprehensive postgraduate training program, which included surgical registrarship, he practised in partnership with his wife, Dr Jill Rosenblatt, for 10 years in the rural community of Neerim South, Victoria.

He was appointed Senior Lecturer (part-time) in the Department of Community Medicine at Monash University and eventually returned to Melbourne as a full-time Senior Lecturer. He was appointed to a professorial chair in Community Medicine at Box Hill Hospital in 1988 and subsequently as chairman of the extended department and Professor of General Practice in 1993 until retirement from this position in 2010. He now holds teaching positions as Emeritus Professor in General Practice at Monash University, Adjunct Clinical Professor, University of Notre Dame and Professorial Fellow, University of Melbourne. He achieved the Doctor of Medicine degree in 1988 for his thesis ‘The management of back pain in general practice’.

He was appointed Associate Medical Editor of Australian Family Physician in 1980 and Medical Editor in 1986, a position he held until 1995. In 1995 he was awarded the Officer of the Order of Australia for services to medicine and to medical education in the field of general practice and to professional groups.

One of his numerous publications, Practice Tips, was named as the British Medical Association’s Best Primary Care Book Award in 2005. In the same year John Murtagh was awarded the inaugural David de Kretser medal from Monash University for his exceptional contribution to the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences over a significant period of time. Members of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners may know that the honour of the namesake of the College library was bestowed upon him. In 2018 he was awarded the Australian Medical Association’s Gold Medal for exceptional and long-standing commitment and contribution to general practice and advancing the profession through medical education.

Today John Murtagh continues to enjoy active participation in medical education activities. His vast experience with all medical groups has provided him with tremendous insights into their needs, which is reflected in the culminated experience and wisdom of John Murtagh’s General Practice.

Dr Clare Murtagh

MBBS, FRACGP

General Practitioner, Sydney

Clare Murtagh completed her medical studies at Monash University in 2007 and spent her early career working in hospitals in Geelong and rural Victoria. Following experience as a medical officer for trekkers in Nepal, she moved to Sydney where she completed her General Practice training in 2013.

A passionate generalist, Clare has special interest in dermatology, women’s health and paediatrics. She holds a Diploma of Dermatology and Certificates in Sexual and Reproductive Health, and Medical Education. While practising at Your Doctors in Sydney’s inner west, she has cared for a wide variety of patients and is an antenatal shared care provider.

In recent years, Clare has gained increasing experience in medical education as a supervisor of training GPs and as an examiner for the RACGP. She has worked as a medical educator at GP Synergy and is a lecturer on dermatology.

Clare has been an enthusiastic contributor to the ‘Women’s health’, ‘Sexual health’ and ‘Problems of the skin’ sections of the last three edition of Murtagh’s General Practice. As the daughter of co-authors John Murtagh and Jill Rosenblatt, she has benefited from their mentorship and appreciates the genesis and philosophy of the editorial direction of the textbook.