The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners

Three Auckland GPs and a Dunedin GP were recognised today for their outstanding contribution to general practice and health.

Distinguished fellowship of the Royal NZ College of General Practitioners was awarded to Dr Anthony Everard James Fitchett of Dunedin and Dr Lannes Fullarton Johnson, Professor Ngaire Margaret Kerse and Dr Philip John Rushmer, all from Auckland.

The awards were presented by College President Dr Harry Pert at day two of the 2011 Conference for General Practice currently being held in Auckland.

Dr Tony Fitchett has been a dedicated and enthusiastic mentor of general practice registrars for 28 years of his nearly 40 years in practice, teaching undergraduate medical students since the early 1970s, and was instrumental in establishing the Mornington PHO.

Dr Lannes Johnson has been a GP for over 30 years and a tireless advocate for the role of the GP as the lynchpin of primary health care 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.

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 to be awarded an Health Research Council programme grant. She has also been an active member of the RNZCGP, having been Chair of the Auckland Faculty Board for many years, as well as serving as a member of the College Council.

Dr Philip Rushmer has championed the role of the general practitioner in obstetrics, and also chaired the NZ Medical Association’s General Practitioner Council from its inception until he stepped down in July 2001. He was a member of the Ministry of Health WellChild technical advisory group, and held a place on the board of the HealthWEST PHO before being appointed Chair in 2007.

Also at today’s award ceremony, 191 College members received Fellowship of the RNZCGP and 15 received Fellowship of the Division of Rural Hospital Medicine.

ENDS

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