RACGP Announces Winners Of 2008 Alan Chancellor Award And NHMRC's NICS Evidence Into Action Prize, Australia

Main Category: Primary Care / General Practice
Article Date: 06 Oct 2008 - 2:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   view / write opinions   rate article

Dr Chris Mitchell, President of The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP), presented the Alan Chancellor Award and the NHMRC's NICS Evidence Into Action Prize at yesterday's closing ceremony of the Wonca Asia Pacific Regional Conference/RACGP Annual Scientific Convention 2008 in Melbourne, recognising outstanding achievement in Australian general practice research.

"The RACGP has always supported research in general practice and been keen to promote the achievements of general practitioners whose research work improves the quality of care for our community. GP researchers make a real and positive contribution to Australian general practice and our patients. Congratulations to the winners of this year's prizes," said Dr Mitchell.

2008 Alan Chancellor Award winner:

- Dr Kevin Sweeney, Professor Dimity Pond, Dr Parker Magin - Patient attitudes to medical students in general practice: consent and confidentiality.

Dr Alan Chancellor, who passed away in 1996, donated this award in 1990 for new researchers in the field of general practice. A recipient of the Rose Hunt Award for a lifetime of service to the college, Dr Chancellor was Chairman of the National Research Committee, a founding supervisor of the RACGP Training Program and a foundation member of the College Research and Evaluation Ethics Committee. The Alan Chancellor Award is presented each year to the GP considered to be the best first time presenter of a research paper at the RACGP Annual Scientific Convention. The prize is $500 and an engraved medallion and is given in memory of Dr Chancellor.

2008 NHMRC's NICS Evidence Into Action Prize winner:

- Dr Jeremy Bunker, Professor Nicholas Zwar, Dr Sanjyot Vagholkar, Dr Sarah Dennis, Dr Guy Marks, Professor Alan Crockett - A project to assess the effectiveness and feasibility of case finding of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) by practice nurses in general practice.

In 2008 the National Institute of Clinical Studies (NICS) awarded a $1000 prize for the paper or poster at the RACGP Annual Scientific Convention that best demonstrated improving health care by closing an identified gap between the available evidence and clinical practice, within Australian health care settings. The NICS is an institute of the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), Australia's peak body for supporting health and medical research. As part of the NHMRC, NICS works to improve health care by getting health and medical research into practice.

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.

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