Dr Kim Loo and Dr Pramudie Gunaratne have been awarded the Australian Medical Association's 2025 Women in Medical Leadership Award for their exceptional leadership, and outstanding contributions to healthcare.
AMA President Dr Danielle McMullen said both incredible doctors were being recognised for their unwavering commitment to promoting women in medical leadership, improving quality care, and influencing medical politics.
"Dr Loo is a respected, Sydney-based general practitioner renowned for her compassion, fairness, and deep sense of purpose, particularly regarding the health impacts of climate change," Dr McMullen said.
"As a fellow GP, I've always admired Dr Loo not just for her clinical excellence, but for the unwavering compassion she brings to every patient and every cause. Her tireless advocacy for climate action and social justice reminds us all that medicine isn't just about treating illness — it's about healing communities and protecting the future."
Dr Loo serves on the board of Doctors for the Environment Australia. She said more than 35 years working in general practice had made her acutely aware of the social, commercial and environmental factors affecting the lives of her patients.
"We need to live a simpler life and really value each other," Dr Loo said. "It's important we understand the systems and problems that damage our health so we can create healthier spaces for our kids to live in the future. The precarity of the lives of some of my patients, and the intergenerational inequity of climate devastation, fuels my advocacy."
Dr Gunaratne is a distinguished psychiatrist whose leadership has had a profound impact on mental healthcare across NSW, Australia, and globally. Currently Chair of the NSW Branch of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, she has been a powerful advocate for strengthening the public mental health system, especially amid workforce shortages affecting patient safety and care quality.
"Dr Gunaratne exemplifies what it means to lead with vision and integrity, bringing clarity and courage to some of the most difficult conversations in healthcare," Dr McMullen said.
"Her advocacy for mental health reform is not only inspiring — it's reshaping our broader healthcare system for the better, with intellect, compassion, and unwavering determination."
Dr Gunaratne said shining a light on the mental health crisis has been an incredible team effort with so many dedicated and courageous psychiatrists, patients and families speaking out about a broken system that is failing our communities.
"We urgently need to elevate mental health onto the mainstream public and political agenda. It can't continue to languish as an after-thought in the Australian psyche. One of the most encouraging aspects of our advocacy has been the uptake by mainstream media to tell our story and those of our patients and their families — I hope this is leading to conversations about mental health at dinner tables around the country."
