NSW&ACT Faculty
RACGP WA Faculty Corlis Fellow
Prof Max Kamien
In a mark of respect to the late Dr Bill Corlis and as an expansion of our own capacity as educators, the RACGP has established a new Fellowship in Dr Corlis’ honour.
Dr Wilson ‘Bill’ Leighton Corlis (1903–994), was the son of Dr Christopher Corlis and the grandson of doctors Josiah and Margaret Corlis who emigrated from Canada to Australia in 1892. In 1896 they set up a tent hospital in Southern Cross to treat gold miners suffering from typhoid. Margaret Amelia Corlis came from a family of ‘educationalists’ and was a qualified school teacher before becoming one of the first seven women allowed to study medicine at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. She graduated aged 44. Margaret was the first ‘she doctor’ in Western Australia.
Bill Corlis was thus ‘genetically endowed’ for a life of medicine and education. He became a GP who practiced for 50 years in NSW, first in Lismore, then Petersham and finally in Sussex Inlet until his 80th birthday. He was a pioneer in small group interactive learning for GPs, and saw innovative postgraduate education as a main role for the RACGP. His contribution to medical education was recognised by an Order of Australia (1984), and the premier awards of the Australian and New Zealand Association for Medical Education (1984) and the RACGP (the Rose-Hunt Award, 1987).
Explanation of the role
The Corlis Travelling Fellows provide advice to:
- RACGP Vocational Training Accreditation Subcommittees and the RACGP censors on accreditation of training posts outside usual general practice
- provide regional leadership and support for education events
- act as a local mentor
- liaise with universities, Regional Training Providers, divisions/networks of general practice and Rural Workforce Agencies and promote the college at regional meetings and events
- act as a support person to assist Fellows and members with professional and bureaucratic problems.
Experience
Prof Max Kamien – Provost of the WA Faculty and Foundation Professor of General Practice at the University of Western Australia, is a well-regarded and highly experienced medical practitioner and educator who has helped many International Medical Graduates to pass the examinations of the AMC and FRACGP. He has had a wide experience of third and fourth world medicine including general practice in Bourke, NSW. He has also been a pathfinder in the fields of general and rural practice, decentralised medical education, Aboriginal health and the wellbeing of International Medical Graduates. He has strong existing networks which allow him to act as an ambassador for the college in rural WA.
Reporting and outcomes
Prof Kamien will liaise on an ongoing basis to his faculty admin support, Naomi Thomas, and the Chair of the WA Faculty, where actions can be dealt with in a highly confidential manner. He will also report on non-confidential activity to the WA Faculty Board on a bi-annual basis. The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners has established a group of experienced and respected Fellows from each state faculty called the Corlis Travelling Fellows. Prof Max Kamien, pictured above, has been appointed a WA Faculty Corlis Fellow.
Contact Details
Ms Naomi Thomas, phone: 08 9489 9555, email: corlis.wa@racgp.org.au