Dr Connan's clinical experience spans capital cities, regional centres, developing countries and both public and private medicine.
The most influential years of her training and specialist practice were proudly undertaken at Australia's largest maternity hospital, Melbourne's Royal Women's Hospital, with specialist training in high-risk obstetrics, advanced laparoscopic surgery and obstetric ultrasound.
Nepean Hospital & Royal darwin hospital
Kirsten completed her Internship in Sydney at Nepean Hospital, the 520 bed teaching hospital at the base of Sydney's Blue Mountains. She then spent two rewarding years as a junior doctor in obstetrics, gynaecology and paediatrics at Royal Darwin Hospital, where she discovered her passion for both women's health and addressing the health needs of marginalised communities.
Royal Women's Hospital & Frances Perry House
In 2004, Kirsten began her obstetrics & gynaecology training at Melbourne's historic and prestigious Royal Women's Hospital. In addition to standard specialist training in general obstetrics and gynaecology, Kirsten also gained subspecialty experience in managing high risk pregnancies as a Maternal Fetal Medicine Fellow in 2008, as well as skills and expertise in advanced laparoscopic surgery in the Endometriosis/Pelvic Pain Unit (G2) in 2009 and early 2010. She was the Royal Women's Hospital's Principal Registrar in 2009.
Kirsten then worked for several years as an obstetrician, gynaecologist, laparoscopic surgeon, and specialist obstetric sonologist in both public practice at RWH and in private practice at Melbourne's Frances Perry House.
During this time Kirsten furthered her clinical and teaching experience overseas, working both medically and as an educator to help build women's health capacity in resource constrained countries. She has spent time living and working at Fiji's Colonial War Memorial Hospital, as well as travelling to Mongolia on numerous occasions as part of obstetric and gynaecology teaching missions.
After further specialist O&G work at Royal Darwin Hospital, she began her practice in Hobart in 2014. Kirsten co-founded TasOGS with Dr Tania Hingston, Tasmania's first all-female obstetric and gynaecology group practice.
Education & Teaching
Dr Connan was appointed one of Australia's youngest Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics (ALSO) instructors in 2003, and is also a Practical Obstetric Multi-Professional Training (PROMPT) instructor. Further reflecting her passion as an educator, Kirsten has held Supervisor of Training roles both at the Royal Women's and Royal Darwin hospitals, and contributed as a RANZCOG Tasmanian Committee member.
Kirsten is currently an examiner of trainee O&G specialists for RANZCOG, the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.
Dr Connan believes very strongly that high quality clinical excellence can only be achieved by maintaining both ongoing case volume and continual professional development. For this reason her practice focuses on obstetrics, including high-risk complex obstetrics, advanced laparoscopic surgery, chronic pelvic pain and endometriosis, rather than all aspects of her speciality.
Dr Connan is one of a small number of gynaecologists in Tasmania recommended by Endometriosis Australia for Stage 4 (severe) endometriois surgery.