Greek Cypriot doctor Stephanos Herodotou has been nominated by his students at the University of Melbourne as the MD2 Teacher of the Year for 2023.
Dr Herodotou, who has been nominated and won on a number of occasions, has been recognised for his contributions to the academic and personal growth of his medical students from the University of Melbourne Medical School at the Northern Hospital.
Born in Cyprus, he studied medicine in Athens and has made Melbourne public hospitals his ‘second home’ for the last 40+ years.
He finds the recognition to be quite an honour and a “humbling experience”, especially because it comes from his students.
“It’s a big honour, it’s amazing and makes me feel very proud of who I am and where I started from Cyprus to where I am today,” he told Neos Kosmos.
“When I started many years ago, in my wildest dreams I could not dream of a career like this.
“Coming from a poor background, I’m very honoured.”
Dr Herodotou has been one of the key executives of the emergency departments at the Preston and Northcote Community Hospital (PANCH) and then at the Northern Hospital in Epping.
He has also been very active in the field of Clinical Medicine, having responsible for further in-hospital training of nurses and specialists since 2001.
A proud Cypriot, he has served on the Board of Directors of the Cypriot Community of Melbourne and Victoria from 1980-1992 as Vice President and head of the Committee on Cultural Events.
In 2022, he received the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) – For service to medicine, and to the Cypriot community of Victoria.
Now, if it was up to Dr Herodotou, he will continue his career for as long as possible.
“I’m proud of what I am. I love medicine and I’m passionate about what I’m doing and will continue to try spending the rest of my time or the rest of my abilities working in this profession.”
