After 47 years of practising medicine and delivering around 5000 babies on four different continents, Buderim Private Hospital obstetrician and gynaecologist, Dr James Moir, will retire on Friday 11 February.
Growing up in a small village in rural Scotland, Dr Moir’s long and distinguished career began when he finished medical school in Aberdeen in 1975. His medical career took him around the world from Scotland to England, Canada, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Tanzania, and various parts of Australia, before settling to practise on the Sunshine Coast in 1993.
After following in his father’s footsteps to become a doctor, Dr Moir felt compelled to help use his medical training to help those in the developing world and early in his career he spent time working as a medical and scientific research officer in Papua New Guinea.
“Following seven incredible years in Papua New Guinea, I knew there was a need for women’s health support which is what inspired me to pursue further studies in obstetrics and gynaecology,” Dr Moir said.
Dr Moir completed a community health degree at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in 1986, and then gained the Diploma of Obstetrics in New Zealand in 1988, before becoming a Fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in December 1994.
“After meeting my wife and starting my family, we decided to settle on the Sunshine Coast and it was here that I have spent the last 29 years working in both the public and private sectors delivering babies, and providing gynaecological and fertility services,” he said.
“There have been lots of highlights and interesting parts of my career and I will miss the rewards of my work including delivering babies, seeing women through difficult surgeries, and also following people on their fertility journey from conception to birth which has been a privilege.”
“I enjoy being stopped on the streets of the Sunshine Coast to meet the babies born through IVF, or babies I have delivered over the years who now range from six months to 20-plus years-old.”
“Another highlight was meeting and providing medical care to isolated pockets of people in the highlands and rural areas of Papua New Guinea. During my time there, in the early 1980s, one small highland tribe made themselves known to civilisation for the first time.”
Karen Clark, General Manager of Buderim Private Hospital, said Dr Moir has had a positive and long-lasting impact on many people’s lives here on the Sunshine Coast and around the globe.
“I would like to congratulate Dr Moir on his incredible career and for helping so many people realise their dream of starting and a family and safely welcoming their precious new babies into the world,” Mrs Clark said.
“Dr Moir has been a wonderful part of our Buderim Private Hospital maternity and women’s health teams and will be missed greatly and remembered fondly,” she said.
Dr Moir is looking forward to the next chapter of his life and spending time with his four children and two grandchildren, as well as further pursuing his musical interests and nurturing his green thumb.