The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) is pleased to announce that Dr Josephine Guyer has won the national General Practitioner in Training of the Year award.
Dr Guyer is currently working at the Myhealth Liverpool clinic, having completed terms at the Tharawal Aboriginal Corporation in Airds, the Primacare Medical Centre in Roselands and Schwarz Family in Elderslie. She was previously a worthy recipient of the RACGP's inaugural Growing Strong Award in 2017 and has embraced that ethos in her GP training.
She was selected as the national GP in Training of the Year award from a strong list of candidates from across Australia.
RACGP Acting President Associate Professor Ayman Shenouda today congratulated Dr Guyer.
"Dr Guyer sets a particularly high standard for others to follow, she is a real inspiration," Associate Professor Shenouda said.
"It is important for general practice to have doctors from a range of different backgrounds and life experiences. That way as healthcare professionals we can learn from each other and gain insights that might not be obvious to us.
"Dr Guyer comes to general practice with life experience that is enormously beneficial for patient care. She worked as a nurse for almost two decades and is a proud Wiradjuri woman who is expert at providing responsive and culturally appropriate care.
"When Dr Guyer recently won the NSW and ACT RACGP award, I thought that she would be a strong candidate to win the national award, so it is no surprise she has emerged successful. Once again, congratulations Dr Guyer and best of luck in your future career."
Dr Guyer said that she was humbled to be named winner of the national RACGP award.
"It was great to receive the NSW and ACT award so to win the national award is a tremendous honour," she said.
"There are so many GPs in training doing such impressive work in communities everywhere. I will continue to make myself available to assist and advise other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander registrars and share my training experiences to help others on their journey towards becoming a GP.
"It provides me with an opportunity to speak about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health training and workforce needs – the issues that I am really passionate about.
"Winning this award today is a reminder of how far we have come. Half a century ago, my Mum wanted to start training in a country hospital as a nurse but she was denied this opportunity because she was an Aboriginal woman.
"Think for a moment, how many other people like my Mum may have experienced something similar in the past, and consider the lost opportunities and impact that this has had on our healthcare system.
"Now, as a GP in training, I am proud to be working and l love the work I do. I am also proud to say my son has just completed his first year as a medical student at Western Sydney University and this fills me with enormous pride.
"But of course, we still have a long way to go and that is something that really drives me. I want to once again encourage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people throughout Australia to consider joining the general practice workforce if that is something they are interested in".
"Health outcomes among our people will improve significantly if we can boost that workforce presence. So consider what I did and give it a try, you might surprise yourself in ways you never thought possible".
"My message remains the same for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people everywhere - I did it and you can do it too, you just need to believe you can."
Dr Guyer's roles in the area of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health include:
· contributing to the design, development and delivery of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health training workshops as a member of the GP Synergy Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Working Group
· advocating for culturally appropriate clinical practice by working with other medical educators and GP Synergy's Aboriginal Cultural Education Unit (ACEU) to design, develop and deliver an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health cultural awareness and education webinar during the COVID-19 pandemic
· collaborating with the ACEU in providing support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander GP registrars
· contributing to the Aboriginal Advisory Committee at the Kildare Road Medical Centre in Blacktown.
The RACGP Awards recognise the value of GPs in our community, celebrating the achievements of exceptional individuals who go above and beyond to care for their patients.
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