Patricia Buckfield
Patricia Buckfield | |
|---|---|
| Born | Patricia Marie Buckfield 20 August 1934 Surrey, England |
| Died | 13 June 1995 (aged 60) Wellington, New Zealand |
| Alma mater | University of Otago |
| Known for | Contributions to the early development of the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields |
|
| Institutions | University of Otago |
| Thesis | The physical status of New Zealand infants at birth and delineation of factors affecting this status (1978) |
| Notable students | Phil Silva |
Patricia Marie Buckfield (20 August 1934 – 13 June 1995) was a New Zealand paediatrician and neonatologist. A pioneer of neonatal intensive care in New Zealand, she contributed to the early development of what became the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study (known as the Dunedin Study).
Early life and education
[edit]Buckfield was born in Surrey, England, on 20 August 1934.[1][2] Her family moved to New Zealand in the early 1950s, settling in Southland, and Buckfield was educated as a boarder at St Margaret's College, Christchurch, where she was head prefect of Acland House in 1952.[1][3][4][5] She went on to study medicine at the University of Otago, graduating MB ChB in 1958.[1]
Medical training and career
[edit]After graduating from Otago, Buckfield held junior hospital appointments in Auckland and Dunedin, and gained a Diploma of Children's Health in 1963.[1] From 1965 to 1967, she undertook postgraduate training in England, working at Hammersmith Hospital in London, where she held a registrar position in paediatrics under Peter Tizard.[1]
Returning to Dunedin in 1967, Buckfield was appointed lecturer, then senior lecturer, in paediatrics at the University of Otago.[1] Concurrently, she was a specialist paediatrician for the Otago Hospital Board, and became a pioneer of neonatal intensive care in New Zealand.[1][6] Buckfield collected perinatal data on approximately 12,000 births at Dunedin's Queen Mary Hospital between 1967 and 1973.[7] In 1973, she and educational psychologist Phil Silva conducted a pilot study, funded by the Medical Research Council, assessing 250 children at four or five.[7] This project formed the basis for the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study.[5][6][7]
In 1978, Buckfield was elected a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians.[1] The following year, she graduated with a Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Otago;[6] her doctoral thesis was titled The physical status of New Zealand infants at birth and delineation of factors affecting this status.[8]
In 1982, Buckfield moved to Wellington as director of the Puketiro Centre and continued her work in developmental paediatrics until her death from cancer on 13 June 1995, at the age of 60.[1][5][9] She had been elected a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh in 1983 and a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians in 1985.[1]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h i j McDonald, W. I. "Patricia Marie Buckfield". Royal College of Physicians. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
- ^ "Births registered in July, August and September, 1934". United Kingdom: General Register Office. p. 365. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
- ^ "University of Otago". The Press. Vol. 92, no. 27741. 19 August 1955. p. 7. Retrieved 15 June 2025 – via PapersPast.
- ^ "St. Margaret's College". The Press. Vol. 88, no. 26912. 12 December 1952. p. 6. Retrieved 15 June 2025 – via PapersPast.
- ^ a b c "Big steps: before Dunedin Study". Otago Daily Times. 31 December 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
- ^ a b c "150 alumni heroes" (PDF). University of Otago Magazine. No. 48. Autumn 2019. p. 36. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
- ^ a b c "The Dunedin Study – Background". Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health & Development Research Unit. University of Otago. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
- ^ "The physical status of New Zealand infants at birth and delineation of factors affecting this status". University of Otago library catalogue. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
- ^ "Cemetery record for Buckfield, Patricia Marie". Porirua City Council. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
- 1934 births
- 1995 deaths
- People from Surrey
- British emigrants to New Zealand
- People educated at St Margaret's College
- University of Otago alumni
- New Zealand neonatologists
- New Zealand paediatricians
- Academic staff of the University of Otago
- Fellows of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians
- Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
- Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians
- Deaths from cancer in New Zealand