The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) is congratulating this year's NSW and ACT RACGP Award winners.
The winners are:
· Raymond Terrace Family Practice has won General Practice of the Year
· Dr Isabel Hanson working at the Gandangara Health Services in Liverpool has won GP in Training of the Year
· Dr Karen Douglas from Terrigal and Avoca Beach Medical Centres on the Central Coast has won GP of the Year
· Dr Saif Alkadhi of Abermain has won GP Supervisor of the Year.
RACGP President Dr Karen Price congratulated this year's winners.
"The RACGP Awards are an opportunity to recognise and celebrate the hard work of GPs and their teams in caring for their communities," she said.
"This year's winners have truly gone above and beyond for their patients and contributed to the health of their communities, congratulations to you all."
Dr Sarah Bayley of Raymond Terrace Family Practice welcomed news of the award.
"At Raymond Terrace Family Practice, we have a long, proud history of helping patients in the local area," she said.
"The practice has been serving the community since the 1940s and some patients may even recall attending the practice and waiting on the veranda to see their GP. It has moved around a few times but retained a strong reputation with every relocation.
"I have always said that being a regional GP is an incredibly rewarding profession. You are connected to your community; your patients know and trust you and you can see the positive impact of your work every day."
Raymond Terrace Family Practice's Dr Chris Boyle also welcomed the award.
"We take on medical students and registrars at all stages of training who require support and supervision including Australian Defence Force registrars and we have a committed culture of learning and sharing knowledge," he said.
"Indeed, all of the doctors who work in the practice have gone through as registrars to become specialist GPs. I have personally had a hand in everyone's training.
"Since our Health One GP Superclinic was built in 2014, patients have been able to experience integrated care by general practice and community services including pathology, dental, psychiatry and child and family health.
"The pandemic has required all of our staff to step up to help the local community and I am proud of what we have done. Our COVID-19 respiratory and vaccine clinics have required many long hours and I'm glad to report that so far, we have delivered more than 18,000 respiratory assessments and 25,000 vaccinations – an incredible achievement that will help keep our local community safe."
Dr Hanson said that the award was a welcome bonus during a busy year.
"Working as a registrar has been an incredibly rewarding experience. I have been fortunate to have inspiring general practice mentors across my training who have shaped who I am as a doctor," she said.
"My aim is to become an academic GP who can contribute to the local community through clinical work, research, teaching and leadership. To reach that goal I am looking to get the most out of my final GP placement and the academic registrar program this year. There is always much more to learn and I can't wait for the next steps in my career.
"My academic post research project is aimed at identifying social prescribing activities and gaps in current knowledge. So say a patient presents with mental health issues and a number of chronic conditions, a GP may be able to change their health trajectory by prescribing a non-clinical service such as joining a local walking group where they will exercise, connect with their community, and enjoy being in uplifting green spaces outdoors.
"GPs know all too well that social disconnection and isolation contributes to poor physical and mental health – we see the end product of this every day.
"I want to
