Major General John Pearn has served as one of Australia’s most senior doctor-soldiers. Professor Pearn is Senior Paediatrician at the Queensland Children’s Hospital where he has served as a full-time staff clinician since 1968. His major clinical, research and teaching interests in paediatrics and internal medicine have included medical genetics, clinical toxicology, bioethics and accident prevention.
Major General John Pearn also served in a second career in the Australian Defence Force, rising progressively through various senior command and executive positions in the Defence Health Service. In 1998 Major General Pearn was appointed Surgeon General to the Australian Defence Force and served in this role until his retirement in 2000.