The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners

DISTINGUISHED FELLOWSHIP

The Distinguished Fellowship is awarded for outstanding and sustained services either to the science or practice of medicine, or the aims or work of the College. Service to any organisation which may directly or indirectly benefit General Practice, medicine as a whole, or the health and welfare of the community, may be taken into account.

Anthony Everard James Fitchett

Dr Tony Fitchett is a Dunedin GP who has been a dedicated and enthusiastic mentor of general practice registrars for 28 years, has taught undergraduate medical students since the early 1970s, and was instrumental in establishing the Mornington PHO.  His enthusiasm for teaching has led others into medical education and his compassion and commitment to his patients has been both emulated and remembered by those lucky enough to have been inspired by him.  After nearly 40 years in practice he continues to be highly regarded by his patients and the community in general.

Lannes Fullarton Johnson

A GP for over 30 years and a Fellow of the Royal New Zealand College of General Practice since 1987, Dr Lannes Johnson has been a tireless advocate for the role of the GP as the lynchpin of primary healthcare in New Zealand.  In his longstanding role as Medical Director of HealthWEST – and more recently as Clinical Director of Harbour Health PHO – Lannes has made extensive use of population health data analysis to frame a number of pioneering strategies to improve health gains.  He has been very active in promoting men’s health, and his achievements also include helping to start Doctors for Sexual Abuse Care and publishing a series of papers on aviation medicine that led to wide-ranging changes in the field.

Ngaire Margaret Kerse

Professor Ngaire Kerse of the University of Auckland is a champion for primary care of the elderly.  A leading international GP researcher in gerontology, Ngaire was a recipient of a Commonwealth Fund Harkness Fellowship in 2002 – 2003, and is the first primary care academic ever to be awarded an HRC programme grant.  She has also been an active member of the Royal New Zealand Collage of GPs, having been Chair of the Auckland Faculty Board for many years as well as serving as a member of the National Council.  An intellectual star who also remains true to her rural Southland roots, she is described as forthright, outrageous, and hilarious.

Philip John Rushmer

Dr Philip Rushmer has worked tirelessly on behalf of the medical profession and patients for many years. As well as championing the role of the general practitioner in obstetrics, Philip also chaired the NZMA’s General Practitioner Council from its inception until he stepped down in July 2001. He was a member of the Ministry of Health Well Child technical advisory group, and held a place on the board of the HealthWEST PHO (one of the larger PHOs in New Zealand) before being appointed Chair in 2007.  Philip is known as a treasured source of wisdom and compassion, and is selfless and dedicated to the medical profession.

DISTINGUISHED SERVICE MEDAL

The Distinguished Fellowship is awarded for outstanding and sustained services either to the science or practice of medicine, or the aims or work of the College. Service to any organisation which may directly or indirectly benefit General Practice, medicine as a whole, or the health and welfare of the community, may be taken into account.

Thomas Nigel Ellison (posthumous)

Dr Tom Ellison became a rural general practitioner in 1966, setting up practice in Raglan and servicing a population of 7,500 for over four decades. He worked long hours in his early years, being known for taking just three two-week holiday breaks during 1971, 1975 and 1980. Tom’s workload lessened in the 1980s, but his dedication to the local community and General Practice continued. He was a kaumatua for te ORA and a founding member of the College’s Te Akoranga a Maui. He was awarded a QSM in 1981 and the Maarire Goodall Award for Services to Maori and Polynesian Health in 2005.

On Sunday 14th August 2011, Dr Tom Ellison died at Waikato Hospital after a short illness. He will be missed.

Jennifer Margaret Waddell

A GP in Auckland, Jenni Waddell has been a dedicated member of the General Practice stage 2 education team for many years, and has helped many registrars on their path to Fellowship. Jenni has also played a mentoring and supportive role to new educators joining the GPEP2 team, and, more recently, has been involved in mentoring for the Primex Intensive Programme. Her one-on-one support has assisted with success in the Primex exam. She is known for her enthusiasm and dedication to both General Practice and her education role.

Alana Marie Wilson

Dr Alana Wilson has worked as a GP for the Newtown Medical Centre for more than 13 years, and has been a GP representative on the New Zealand Resuscitation Council, developing guidelines and providing advice on resuscitation in general practice since 1998.  She has also proven to be an invaluable resource to the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners, providing advice and guidance on resuscitation courses, helping develop educational material for registrar training and presenting to registrar groups for more than 16 years. She has long encouraged and supported College staff and is known as a voice of reason on complicated matters.

Antony Ivan Yelavich

Dr Tony Yelavich’s service to general practice and its ideals has included more than 30 years’ involvement with undergraduate medical teaching of fourth and fifth year students, and several years as a student mentor. In addition, he has been a faithful and dedicated member of the Faculty board since 1994, has served as Faculty treasurer for 14 years and helped to organise both the 2003 and the 2008 RNZCGP conferences in Dunedin and Queenstown respectively. His attention to detail and his pragmatic approach to Faculty meetings has been an invaluable asset to a committee that is tackling the challenges of providing professional education and development across a large region.

PRIMEX AWARD

Marissa Parrott Hampson-Kelaher

The Primex Award is presented in recognition of excellence in the General Practice Education Programme.

The top candidate overall in Primex in 2010 was Dr Marissa Parrott Hampson-Kelaher.

PETER ANYON MEDAL

The purpose of the annual memorial address is to honour the work of Dr Peter Anyon who made a valuable and important contribution to general practice vocational education by setting up a registrar training scheme in Lower Hutt in 1974 and becoming the first regional director. Peter was an active and passionate advocate for quality general practice education.

Katrina Kirikino

Katrina was invited to give the 'Peter Anyon Address' at this year's conference.

An article about Katrina Kirikino can be viewed here.

View Katrina's Peter Anyon Memorial Presentation here.

ERIC ELDER MEDAL

This medal is awarded in honour of Dr Eric Elder an inspired rural GP who lived and worked in Tuatapere for nearly 60 years. The Eric Elder medal is awarded to keynote speakers at the RNZCGP Annual Conference.

James McCormack

James is Professor, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. His main area of research/scholarly activity is in the area of providing physicians and pharmacists with up-to-date, evidence-based, practical information in the area of rational drug therapy.

Mike Allan

Mike is Associate Professor and Director of Evidence-Based Medicine, Dept of Family Medicine at the University of Alberta and the Director of the Evidence and CPD Program with the Alberta College of Family Physicians.

Mike and James McCormack (above) host a regular podcast which can be found on iTunes and at the Therapeutics Education Collaboration (TEC). TEC was established to provide health professionals and the public with current, evidence-based, practical and relevant information on rational drug therapy.

The overall philosophy of the TEC is to encourage clinicians to engage in shared, informed decision-making, critical thinking, and to exercise some degree of healthy scepticism when it comes to the use of new and old medications.

ORATOR MEDAL

This medal is awarded to a member of the faculty hosting the conference who is selected by their faculty to be the Orator.

Lance Edward O'Sullivan

Lance O’Sullivan is a Maori GP in Kaitaia, Northland. The humanity he brings to general practice is clearly demonstrated in the 2007 RNZCGP video documentary ‘Never the same day twice’ in which he was one of three profiled GPs. This film is well worth watching if you have not already seen it.

Lance was an integral part of the Bro Files programme that saw Maori men leading initiatives to increase healthier behaviours (better diet, more exercise) under the healthy heart banner. Working class Maori men became champions, inspiring their mates to go for heart checks, getting exercise groups going, and becoming role models. It was a great initiative that accessed men who do not usually have contact with primary care. The basic message used the traffic light approach - ‘green for great, orange for risky and red for watch out’. Lance competes in triathlons and understands that a number of Bro File members are now also competing in such events.

Lance divides his time between his clinical practice, his large family, his community involvement and his sporting engagements.

View a full list of the 2011 awards, including GPs who attained fellowship, accredited CORNERSTONE practices and Primex Examiners, here.