Dr Caroline Murtagh is a specialist in palliative medicine who treats patients at St John of God Geelong Hospital.

Dr Murtagh originally trained in Ireland, graduating from University College Cork in 2005. She relocated to Australia in 2008 in order to continue her post-graduate training. She completed her formal GP training in Geelong. She became a Fellow of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (FRACGP) in 2012 and subsequently completed a number of postgraduate diplomas in Palliative Care, Child Health and Dermatology.

Dr Murtagh’s interest in palliative care was sparked while completing her initial diploma so she decided to move to complete her fellowship training. She trained at various sites across Melbourne and became a Fellow of the Australasian Chapter of Palliative Medicine (FAChPM) in 2015.

In 2016 Dr Murtagh completed a 1 year fellowship at Barwon Health, with the research component focusing on cancer cachexia. Caroline is one of a handful of palliative care specialists in Australia with expertise in the management of patient’s with cachexia.

During her fellow year in Geelong she pioneered a sub- regional education support programme for service providers with no direct access to tertiary palliative care, which is still in operation.