General practitioners and others who have made a contribution to Australian general practice have been recognised by The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) with Life Fellowship, Honorary Fellowship and Honorary Membership of the college. These awards will be presented at the RACGP Academic Session, during the Wonca Asia Pacific Regional Conference/RACGP Annual Scientific Convention (ASC) 2008, held at Melbourne Town Hall, on Thursday, 2 October 2008.

The ceremony will be attended by Professor David de Kretser, AC, Governor of Victoria, who will be awarded with the RACGP Honorary Fellowship.

"The RACGP awards recognise the outstanding contributions of individuals to general practice and to the health of all people in Australia," said Dr Vasantha Preetham, outgoing RACGP President.

"Those general practitioners and other award winners we are recognising tonight have demonstrated outstanding commitment to our profession through their dedication to improving the quality of general practice care, training, education and research," said Dr Preetham.

Life Fellowship

Life Fellowship is the highest membership award of The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners and is reserved for outstanding and meritorious service to the college. It is limited to 25 Fellows at any one time, and no more than three Fellows may be elected in one year.

The 2008 recipients of Life Fellowship of The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners are:

- Dr Richard Tennant Finch, 12th RACGP President 1982-84
- Dr Geoffrey Robert Gates AM, 15th RACGP President 1988-90
- Dr Keith William K Shaw OBE, 11th RACGP President from 1980-82

These RACGP Past Presidents are being recognised for their longstanding contribution to Australian general practice and The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.

Dr Richard Tennant Finch, 12th RACGP President 1982-84

Dr Richard Finch was an Army Captain during World War Two, and after this he completed his studies at Sydney University in 1950. He was a Resident Medical Orderly (RMO) at the Western Suburbs Hospital, and Royal Newcastle Hospital, in 1950-1953. He became involved with the college after he moved his practice to Tamworth, in 1958. In the early 1960s he joined the Practice Management Committee of the NSW Faculty. He became Honorary Secretary of the NSW Faculty in 1977, and its Chairman in 1978. In 1980 he was appointed Honorary Secretary of the college, and in October 1982 was elected President of the college.

Dr Geoffrey Robert Gates AM, 15th RACGP President 1988-90

Dr Geoffrey Robert Gates AM (Member in the Order of Australia) was born in 1926 in Liverpool, England and studied medicine at Manchester University Medical School. Dr Gates' career in medicine has taken him from Hong Kong to semi-rural England and to rural Western Australia, where his work among the rural population and in medical politics earned him the Membership of the Order of Australia. He was WA Faculty representative on RACGP Council in 1977, Chairman of Council in 1978, RACGP President from 1988 - 1990 and it was during his Presidency that Vocational Registration was established. He was a rural practitioner for 20 years and his special interests were rural medical practice, especially surgery, anaesthetics and obstetrics.

Dr Keith William Kirkland Shaw OBE, 11th RACGP President from 1980-82

Dr Keith William Kirkland Shaw, OBE. (Order of the British Empire), was President of the college in 1980-1982. Dr Shaw received his medical degree from the University of Queensland in 1949, and was an RMO (Resident Medical Orderly) at Brisbane Hospital in 1950. He was a GP in Bundaberg and Kingaroy in Queensland in the 1950s and '60s. Later he was a Provost of the Queensland Faculty, in 1974-1975, a Chair of the Board of Managers of the Family Medicine Program in 1976-77, and a Chair of the Faculty Board of the RACGP Queensland Faculty in 1979-1980. Dr Shaw had his own personal aircraft which he used to attend to his patients in isolated rural Queensland.

Honorary Fellowship

Honorary Fellowship may be awarded to Fellows and members of the college, members of other colleges or Academies and in special circumstances to non-medical persons. The criteria for this award are service to The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners and/or general practice, service to medicine in the fields of education, research or administration and general service to the community.

The 2008 recipients of Honorary Fellowship of The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners are:

- Professor David de Kretser AC, Governor of Victoria
- Dr Jonathan Fox
- Associate Professor Noel Hayman
- Dr Abdul Wahid Khan
- Professor Zorayda Leopando

Professor David de Kretser, AC, Governor of Victoria

His academic career bridged medicine and anatomy having held positions at Monash University as Professor and Chairman of Anatomy, Founding Director of the Monash Institute of Reproduction and Development and Associate Dean for Biotechnology Development. Professor David de Kretser has been recognised for his research into reproductive biology, infertility and endocrinology. With support from the Australian Government, he initiated a highly successful program of community and professional education in male reproductive health called Andrology Australia.

Dr Jonathan Fox, President of the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners, has been recognised for his determination to improve the health of all New Zealanders through high quality general practice care. He is currently working as a GP in a practice in Meadowbank, Auckland. His work encompasses a wide range of interests and the teaching of medical students.

Associate Professor Noel Hayman, of Inala, Queensland, is currently working as Clinical Director of the Inala Indigenous Health Service and has established an Indigenous Health Unit within this Health Centre. He has been recognised for his contributions to GP Training, particularly in the area of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health. His efforts and influence have lead to a number of Registrars having an ongoing interest in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health. Associate Professor Hayman currently holds a position as Associate Professor at the School of Medicine, the Australasian Faculty of Public Health Medicine and as Secretary of the Australian Indigenous Doctors' Association.

Dr Abdul Wahid Khan, President of the Fiji College of General Practitioners has been recognised for his work in strengthening the links between the Fiji College and the RACGP, especially through the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the two colleges.

Professor Zorayda Leopando, Vice Chancellor for Planning and Development of the University of the Philippines, Manila and Professor of Family and Community Medicine, has been recognised for devoting 25 years to the promotion of high standards of family medicine education, research and practice and contributing in the development of family medicine in Vietnam, Indonesia and Mongolila. Professor Zorayda Leopando is the editor of Asia Pacific Family Medicine and active member of the Wonca Working Party for Women.

Honorary Membership

Honorary Membership is limited to persons who do not hold a registrable medical qualification and who have given long and meritorious service to The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners or to general practice.

The 2008 recipients of Honorary Membership of The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners are:

- Ms Ada Parry
- Ms Fay Constantinou (nee Samaras)
- Ms Kim Collins
- Ms Denese Warmington

Ms Ada Parry, of Darwin, Northern Territory, is being recognised for her work as a highly committed educator and for providing the RACGP with invaluable guidance on issues in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and health training. Ms Parry is currently employed full-time with Northern Territory General Practice Education as the Co-ordinator of Cultural Educators and Mentors. She is inspirational to her peers both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal through her insightful negotiation between cultures.

Ms Fay Constantinou (nee Samaras), RACGP Senior Human Resources Advisor, is being recognised for her decade of committed service to the College. Fay commenced with the College in February 1998 and from 2001 to 2003 Fay established and managed the HR functions of the College's subsidiary vocational training company, GPEA. Fay now has national responsibilities in areas such as College remuneration strategies, performance management, job evaluation and analysis and various HR projects. Fay is currently on maternity leave after the birth of her first child.

Ms Kim Collins, RACGP Resource Development Manager, is being recognised for her decade of service to the RACGP. Kim's commitment to the profession of general practice began when she worked in general practice education with the Family Medicine Program. Today Kim continues her innovative work in the rapidly expanding field of online education where she manages the RACGP's online learning program gplearning.

Ms Denese Warmington, RACGP Production Editor, is recognised for her decade of service to the college. Ms Warmington has been the production editor of Australian Family Physician, the RACGP's official journal, for six years. Ms Warmington is recognised for providing readers with a balance of practical clinical updates and high quality research articles, delivering the profession an independent and inspiring medical journal. Ms Warmington also edits many of the college's guidelines and standards.

"The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners congratulates our new Life Fellows, Honorary Fellows and Honorary Members for their outstanding service to our college, to general practice and to the health care of the people," said Dr Preetham.

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