Dr Elena Vowels

Elena is a specialist anaesthetist having obtained fellowship of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists in 2019. She works part time in each of private and public (Flinders Medical Centre) anaesthesia.

Prior to her medical life, Elena grew up in the southern Adelaide suburbs. After high school, she completed a year of university in Riverside, California, USA before returning home to complete undergraduate Medical Science (BMSci 2005) and post graduate Medicine/Surgery (BMBS 2010) at Flinders University. Anaesthetic training in the South Australia and Northern Territory Rotational Anaesthetics Scheme began in 2014 after 3 years working as an intern/resident in various roles.

Elena's anaesthetic training included provisional fellowships in regional anaesthesia (nerve blocks), and hepatobilliary and upper gastrointestinal anaesthesia at Flinders Medical Centre. These roles provided an excellent experience in management of complex anaesthetic cases. She followed this up with a fellowship in general anaesthesia at the University of British Columbia / Vancouver General Hospital in Canada in 2019/2020. She focused her experiences on hepatobilliary, vascular, and ENT anaesthesia... and an unanticipated pseudofellowship in COVID-19.

During training, Elena also completed a Graduate Certificate in Medical Education at Flinders University. She spends time running simulation education for trainees and specialists and continues to teach on anaesthesia simulation courses being an associate instructor at EMAC (emergency management of anaesthesia course).