Awards Honour Excellence In General Practice Research - Royal Australian College Of General Practitioners

Main Category: Primary Care / General Practice
Article Date: 02 Oct 2008 - 4:00 PDT

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The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) is celebrating the contribution made by general practice research to Australia's health at the WONCA Asia Pacific Regional Conference, which is being combined with the RACGP Annual Scientific Convention (ASC) 2008 in Melbourne this week.

Grants valued between $2,500 and $24,000 will be awarded to nine researchers who are being recognised for outstanding achievement in Australian general practice research.

"There are inspiring general practitioners across Australia who are doing world leading medical research. Their work continues to deliver benefits to our patients, through new treatments and new technologies and a boost to our profession through broader and more efficient types of care," said Dr Vasantha Preetham, outgoing RACGP President.

"Our college is all about excellence. The RACGP Research Foundation reflects our commitment to investing in the future, providing general practitioners with grants, scholarships and awards, establishing mentoring networks to foster the next generation of general practice researchers and encouraging general practice research in the wider community.

"What we're really trying to do is change the community's perception of medical research. This type of work isn't always done by someone in a white coat in a laboratory. Some of the most important work in Australian medical research is being undertaken by your local general practitioner, we're proud of that and want to celebrate it," said Dr Preetham.

Awards presented at the Academic Session, Thursday 2 October 2008:
Chris Silagy Research Scholarship

- Dr Carolyn Ee - Acupuncture for vasomotor symptoms in postmenopausal women: a randomised placebo-controlled pilot study

Family Medical Care, Education and Research (FMCER) Grant

- Dr Jan Coles - GPs and Child Abuse: recognition, responses and experiences of reporting child abuse: A pilot study
- Dr Oliver Frank - Reminding patients before consultations about indicated preventive activities

PWH Grieve Memorial Award

- Dr Melinda Prince - Attendance at the 'Introduction to Qualitative Research Techniques' course and the 'Qualitative Research: Design, Analysis and Representation' course through the Australian Consortium for Social and Political Research Incorporated

RACGP/Australian Primary Health Care Research Institute (APHCRI) Indigenous Health Award

- Dr Gillian Gould - Give Up The Smokes Research Project
- Ms Marion Davies - Australian Indigenous Medical Electives Database

RACGP/Centre of National Research on Disability and Rehabilitation Medicine (CONROD) Research Fellowship (sponsored by the Motor Accident Insurance Commission)

- Dr Craig Hassed - Examination of Australian general practitioners' knowledge, attitudes and practices in relation to sleep disorders in the primary care setting

Rex Walpole Travelling Fellowship

- Dr Penny Abbott - Travel to attend the "The Fascination of Complexity: Dealing with Individuals in a Field of Uncertainty" 2009 WONCA European Conference

Pfizer/RACGP/Australian Association for Academic General Practice Cardiovascular Research Grant (CVRG) in General Practice

- Prof Mark Nelson - Ankle Brachial Index Determination by oscillometric method IN General practice (ABIDING)

Awards presented at the Closing Ceremony, Sunday 5 October:

- Alan Chancellor Award
- NHMRC's NICS Evidence into Practice Prize

To find out more about the role of the RACGP in general practice research, as well as inspiring profiles of some of the doctors whose work has been supported by the RACGP Research Foundation, you can download the booklet Making a difference: General practice research - our patients, our communities, our future by visiting http://www.racgp.org.au/researchfoundation.

To find more information about RACGP grants or to donate to the Research Foundation, please email research@racgp.org.au.

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) is responsible for maintaining standards for quality clinical practice, education and training, and research in Australian general practice. The RACGP has the largest general practitioner membership of any medical organisation in Australia and represents the majority of Australia's general practitioners.

Royal Australian College of General Practitioners