Hawke’s Bay GP and Distinguished Fellow Dr Kerryn Lum has been appointed as the College’s new Censor in Chief. 

The Censor in Chief provides academic governance in education, training, and assessment, and assists in setting the College’s education strategy with attention to equity for Māori, and health equity in general. 

The College Board, who interviewed three candidates, said that Dr Lum stood out for her, ‘depth of thinking, analysis of the challenges presented by the role and the superior response to the equity questions.’

Dr Lum, who is a practicing GP, brings a depth and variety of experience to the role. She obtained her Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degrees (MBChB) from Otago University in 1983 and was made a Fellow of the College in 2011. In between she obtained a Master’s degree in Palliative Care (Flinders University, South Australia), and a Postgraduate Diploma in Clinical Education (Auckland University). 
 
She began working as the lead Medical Educator in Hawkes Bay in 2008 and has held the roles of visiting Medical Educator, Clinical Examiner and Fellowship Censor for the College. She has also been GPEP1 National Clinical Lead for a term and is currently the Chair of the Hawkes Bay Faculty, which she has been since 2018. That year she was also made a Distinguished Fellow of the College. 

The Chief Censor role ensures the College adopts an equitable, defensible, and co-ordinated approach to establishing and maintaining standards relating to assessment in general practice and in the recognition of qualifications and general practice experience that contribute towards a doctor’s Fellowship of the College.

Dr Lum says she has been privileged to be part of a dedicated and innovative group of GP teachers, educators, examiners, Fellowship Assessors and Censors. “With strong support from the College’s Learning Team, my goal is to ensure that FRNZCGP is a qualification that engenders respect and confidence, and that the journey to Fellowship emphasises the skills and qualities required of our specialist GPs who are at the heart of Aotearoa’s varied communities.”

Dr Lum replaces Dr Peter Fleischl, who has successfully completed six years as Chief Censor. Dr Lum’s term will begin on 1 July 2020 for three years.