The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) National Rural Faculty will tonight recognise a general practice registrar and medical student for their contribution to general practice in rural and remote Australia. The awards will be presented as part of GP13 – The Conference for General Practice, currently taking place in Darwin.
Dr Kathy Kirkpatrick, Chair of the RACGP National Rural Faculty, said both awards highlighted the crucial work of general practitioners (GPs) within rural and remote communities.
“These accolades recognise the future of general practice in rural and regional Australia. It is wonderful to see the level of commitment and passion demonstrated by our award recipients to both their work and studies,” she said.
2013 RACGP National Rural Faculty Rural Registrar of the Year Award
Dr David Chessor, Kempsey, NSW, will tonight be awarded with the 2013 RACGP National Rural Faculty Rural Registrar of the Year Award. The award is presented to a general practice registrar who has demonstrated commitment to rural general practice, learning and education and service to rural patients and rural communities.
Congratulating Dr Chessor on receiving the RACGP National Rural Faculty Rural Registrar of the Year Award, Dr Kathy Kirkpatrick said Dr Chessor is an excellent role model, ambassador, mentor and teacher who is highly respected amongst staff at North Coast GP Training (NCGPT), the practices where he has worked and the registrars he represents as NCGPT registrar liaison officer.
“Dr Chessor is a great asset to his local community as he provides first class medical care as well as ensures that his community has adequate numbers of future GPs. He advocates tirelessly through his innovative work to promote rural general practice, Aboriginal health and quality education for rural registrars,” Dr Kirkpatrick said.
Dr Chessor is working as a general practice registrar at Durri Aboriginal Medical Service in Kempsey, a town in the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales. As part of his commitment to his patients, Dr Chessor drives hundreds of kilometers a week to care for a rural Aboriginal community. He also volunteers his time to mentor Aboriginal medical students.
Dr Chessor is currently undertaking his Fellowship in Advanced Rural General Practice (FARGP) and works as Adjunct Senior Lecturer at The University of New South Wales and Chair of the GP Registrar Medical Educator Network at General Practice Registrars Australia (GPRA).
Dr Chessor said he was delighted to receive the award. "I'm truly humbled to be named the Rural Registrar of the Year, particularly given the many registrars in rural Australia who fulfil outstanding jobs for their communities. Living and working in a rural community is infinitely rewarding, and provides me with the perfect mix of clinical work, medical education and advocacy. I look forward to many more years in rural general practice", he said.
2013 RACGP National Rural Faculty Medical Undergraduate Student Bursary
Stephanie Hopkins, from Shortland, NSW, and member of BREAATHHE* rural health student club at University of Newcastle, will tonight be presented with the 2013 RACGP National Rural Faculty Medical Undergraduate Student Bursary.
The award is presented to a medical student who is a member of a rural health students’ club at an Australian university who has completed the required essay on a topic chosen by the RACGP. This year’s essay topic focused on this year’s theme for GP13, ‘Individual. Family. Community’.
Stephanie’s winning essay cited how being a rural general practitioner entails much more than just being a great doctor: “Rural GPs are the weavers of a strong fabric that bring together the essential elements of rural life”.
Stephanie, who grew up in Melbourne but always had a love for the country, identified that rural GPs can expect to feel a strong sense of belonging, something that comes from being the lynchpin of a small, often tight-knit community.
In her essay she concludes that it is inevitable that the lines between ‘working’ and ‘not working’ will sometimes blur in rural communities.
Stephanie recognised that making time for family, friends and yourself is one of the most challenging aspects of achieving work-life balance and suggests that rural GPs not only need a passion outside of medicine but also supportive people nearby to ensure their own physical, spiritual and emotional wellbeing is maintained.
For more information on GP13 – The Conference for General Practice, taking place from 17-19 October in Darwin, visit www.gp13.com.au.
Further information on the 2013 RACGP Award categories can be found at www.racgp.org.au/awards.
*Bringing Rural Experience And Awareness To Hunter Health Education (BREAATHHE)