PA Hospital Senior Emergency Registrar Dr Alyce Scanlan has been named joint winner of the prestigious Buchanan Prize after achieving top marks in the 2025 ACCEM OSCE (Objective Structured Clinical Examination) Fellowship Examination.
Sharing the prize with only a few other candidates across Australasia, Alyce’s outstanding result is underpinned by a decade of hard work, determination and dedicated practise.
Alyce answered the call to emergency medicine in 2018 when she first joined PA Hospital as a junior doctor.
“Knowing that I wanted to do emergency medicine, I took on a role as an SHO here in the ED. I think that set me up very well for a career in emergency medicine, and cemented my passion for excellent patient care,” she said.
Over the years, Alyce flourished in various roles across QEII Hospital, Ipswich Hospital, and the Queensland Children’s Hospital before returning to PAH to complete her consultant training.
Determined to make her mark as a consultant, Alyce committed herself to the cause with the unwavering support of her colleagues and loved ones behind her.
“The only way I can wrap my head around receiving this honour is through the help of my tribe around me. I had my incredible husband’s unwavering support; the patience of my two young kids who had to put up with an always-studying mother; I had my extended family cheering me on; I had the consultants here in ED dedicating a lot of their non-clinical time to doing OSCE practise with me; and a lot of my fellow registrars who were also sitting the exam, who were meeting most days of the week to practise together,” she explained.
With special interests in ultrasound, geriatric emergency medicine, and education, the future has never looked brighter as Alyce prepares to tackle her next challenge: applying for a consultant role.
“I've reached the stage where I've completed my doctor training and I'm excited to embark on the next chapter of my life, which is finding work as a specialist emergency consultant. In its own way, that can be almost as stressful as getting through the exams, so I'm very fortunate in that this Buchanan Prize will be a great addition to my resume and will hopefully help me secure a job.”
Today, Alyce's steadfast dedication to her practice represents not only a personal career milestone, but also serves as an enduring source of inspiration to her colleagues, mentees, and loved ones.
“I'm proud that I could have won this award, and particularly proud that I could have won it as a mother of young kids,” she said.
“To me, the Buchanan Prize feels like a very special acknowledgment of the hard work and dedication that went into getting to this stage, between the pressures of work, family, and everything else going on in life. With a lot of hard work, it can be done.”
A huge congratulations to Alyce on this remarkable achievement and thank you for your exemplary commitment to advancing emergency healthcare.
View the full list of winners and read more about the Buchanan prize here.