Receiving their awards at the recent Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners’ Fellowship and Awards Ceremony in Auckland are Otago staff members Dr Rona Carroll (second from left), with College President Dr Luke Bradford; and (far right) Dr Matt Born, with College Chair of the Division of Rural Hospital Medicine Dr Andrew Laurenson. Photos: SMOKE photography
Two Faculty of Medicine staff members have been nationally recognised for their work, receiving awards from the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners (RNZCGP) this month.
Dr Rona Carroll, from the Faculty of Medicine – Wellington, has been awarded a President’s Service Medal for her outstanding contribution to the College. Dr Matt Born, a Senior Professional Practice Fellow with the Centre for Rural Health, received the James Reid Award for excellence in rural ultrasound education.
The medal recognises Rona’s significant contribution to primary care in Pōneke and beyond, through her clinical leadership, research and advocacy. She has focused particularly on gender-affirming healthcare, while also contributing to wider primary care in sexual and reproductive health.
Rona says, “I am delighted to receive this award from the College. It feels especially meaningful to have the RNZCGP recognise transgender-inclusive healthcare at a time when trans health, gender-affirming healthcare, and culturally safe clinical practice are being challenged. I am grateful to the patients who have trusted me with their care and inspired this work.”
Alongside her clinical work, Rona is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Primary Health Care (Wellington), where she teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students and undertakes research. She has published extensively in the field of gender-affirming healthcare, led the update of Aotearoa New Zealand’s gender-affirming healthcare guidelines and helped establish primary care hormone therapy initiation guidelines.
Rona is part of a national training initiative to build confidence in how primary care supports trans and non-binary patients.
Matt, who is a Rural Hospital Consultant at Dunstan Hospital in Clyde, is one of the lecturers for the University’s Postgraduate Certificate in Clinician-Performed Ultrasound.
His passion for teaching is well established within New Zealand’s rural community, and he has guided many rural clinicians to upskill and enhance their practice with ultrasound. He also travels to Africa and Nepal to support and teach medical colleagues in ultrasound and continues to be part of a wider point-of-care ultrasound, or POCUS, community.
“I gratefully receive this College award on behalf of all those who have developed the postgraduate certificate programme, especially Wendy Finnie, Jill Muirhead, and Professor Garry Nixon, who through their vision and ultrasound education skills have contributed to its success over the last 15 years,” Matt says.
Although originally started to upskill rural practitioners, the course is responsible for educating doctors in multiple specialities, primary care and midwives.
“The value of point of care ultrasound for emergency care, diagnosis and initiation of early treatments for all health providers is being recognised by their various colleges and the Government. This will lead to the expansion of training more specific to the needs of those practitioners.
“Hopefully Otago University will continue to provide its lead role teaching in this highly valued field.”
The awards were presented at the College’s Fellowship and Awards Ceremony in Auckland on 1 August.
– Kōrero by Andrea Jones, Team Leader, Divisional Communications
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