2020 College Awards

Congratulations to the 2020 College award winners.

These awards would traditionally be presented in a special ceremony at the College’s conference. However, this year the conference and ceremony were cancelled because of COVID-19. The 2020 award winners will be formally recognised during the 2021 College conference. 

Distinguished Fellowship of the College

Dr Chris Reid, United Kingdom (formerly Kerikeri)

Dr Reid of Falmouth has been awarded Distinguished Fellowship of The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners for his outstanding contribution to general practice in New Zealand.

Before moving to the UK in 2020, Dr Reid worked in Kerikeri, Northland, where he was a tireless advocate for general practice and rural health.

As well as being a working GP he held numerous leadership positions within his community and at a national level.

Dr Graham McGeoch, Christchurch 

Dr Graham McGeoch of Christchurch has been awarded Distinguished Fellowship of The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners for his profound influence on the evolution of general practice.

Dr McGeoch has been recognised as a dedicated visionary who has developed several GP programmes including HealthPathways, a web-based service offering clinicians locally agreed information to make the right decisions together with patients, at the point of care.

Distinguished Service Medal

Dr Ian Gilbertson, Cambridge

Popular Cambridge GP Dr Ian Gilbertson has been recognised for his service to the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Faculty. 

He has served as treasurer of the group as well as thoughtfully representing grassroots issues for GPs.

Dr Tanya Quin, Okaihau 

Dr Quin has been recognised for her organisational and leadership skills. She’s been a dedicated and valued member of the Northland faculty executive committee since 2014 and has served as both secretary and treasurer in that time.

Notably her organisation of the Faculty’s annual conference and regular learning symposia has created events which are designed to enhance GP’s knowledge and enormously popular. Dr Quin is actively involved with general practice workforce planning in Northland and several projects that address critical rural health issues.

Dr Chandrakkanth (Chandra) Jayarama, Auckland  

Dr Jayarama has been recognised for tirelessly serving the College through his engagement and leadership of the Auckland Faculty.

He has served four years as secretary and five as the chairperson.

Under his leadership, the Faculty helped the College host its conference in 2018 and contributed to planning for the College’s 2020 Asia Pacific WONCA conference before it was cancelled. Dr Jayarama has worked in South Auckland for the last 12 years, by way of India, England, and Australia.

Dr Simon Mayhew, Auckland

Dr Mayhew has been recognised for his contribution to medicine as a teacher and mentor.

He has also been awarded for his significant commitment to sports medicine as GP to the All Blacks Under 20s, the Kiwis, the Warriors, the Breakers, the Tall Blacks, canoe racing, and Yachting NZ (London Olympics, 2012).

For many years, Dr Mayhew has also volunteered his time to several provincial rugby teams including The Highlanders, North Harbour, Bay of Plenty and North Otago. 

Community Service Medal

Dr Grahame Kidd, Auckland

Dr Graeme Kidd of Howick, Auckland has been awarded a Community Service Medal by The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners for his commitment to compassionate medicine.

Dr Kidd has worked as a full-time GP for 42 years, practising GP obstetrics for 20 of those years, providing true ‘cradle to grave’ service for many families. Since 1998 he has also been involved with hospice, having taken a deep interest in palliative care, and in doing so he strives to empower people to live with their terminal illness and maximise their quality of life.

Humphrey Rainey Medal

Dr Elodie Mazoyer

The Humphrey Rainey Prize for Excellence is awarded to the top candidate overall across the General Practice Education Programme (GPEP) Clinical and Written Examination.

Dr Amjad Hamid Medal

Dr Caitlin Whitford

The Dr Amjad Hamid Medal is awarded in honour of Dr Amjad Hamid who was killed in the Christchurch terrorist attack. The medal recognises the top student of the University of Otago's GENA 728 paper, which is Cardiorespiratory Medicine in Rural Hospitals.

Honorary Fellowship

Professor Ross Lawrenson

Professor Ross Lawrenson was Honorary Fellowship of The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners for his unfaltering commitment to primary care and rural health. 

Ms Jillian Muirhead

Ms Muirhead of Wanaka was awarded Honorary Fellowship of The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners for her work teaching ultrasound to rural hospital doctors. Jillian works alongside Wendy Finnie (below) teaching postgraduate papers in generalist ultrasound and echocardiography, which they designed and developed specially to teach rural hospital doctors.

Ms Wendy Finnie 

Ms Finnie of Dunedin has been awarded Honorary Fellowship of The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners for her work teaching ultrasound to rural hospital doctors. Wendy works alongside Jillian Muirhead (above) teaching postgraduate papers in generalist ultrasound and echocardiography, which they designed and developed specially to teach rural hospital doctors.