WONCA awards nominations

Professor Michael Kidd, WONCA President Elect and chair of the Nominating and Awards Committee has made the call to WONCA Member Organizations to make nominations for the various WONCA awards to be presented at the world conference, being held in Prague, in 2013. The awards are:

• WONCA Fellowship
• WONCA Honorary Direct Life membership
• WONCA Foundation Award and
• WONCA 5 Star Doctor Award

Fellowship of WONCA

The Fellowship of WONCA is WONCA’s most prestigious award. It is awarded to individuals who have rendered outstanding service to the WONCA organization. It is awarded every three years at meetings of the WONCA Council, but only if a suitably qualified candidate is identified. It is the expressed wish of WONCA that this should continue to be a prestigious, well earned honour.

Dr Giorgio Visentin, Italy 2004.
Dr Michael Boland, Ireland 2007
Professor Henk Lamberts (Deceased) Netherlands, 2007
Professor Zorayda Leopando, Philippines, 2007
Professor John Murtagh, Australia 2007
Dr Luis Pisco, Portugal 2007
Professor Maurice Wood, USA, 2007
Professor Cheryl Levitt, Canada, 2010
Professor Igor Svab, Slovenia, 2010

Honorary Life Direct Membership

Honorary Life Direct Membership is awarded in recognition of contributions to the work of the WONCA Organization and/or to general practice/family medicine on a world basis. Honorary Life Direct Membership is a category available to recognize significant contributions to WONCA in those instances where the award of Fellow would not be appropriate, but is felt that some recognition should be given. Thus, if a nominee for Fellowship is not recommended by the Nominating and Awards Committee for Fellowship, it may make a recommendation for Honorary Life Direct Membership. Honorary Life Direct Membership is restricted to 25 members. Past Presidents of WONCA receive the award of Honorary Life Direct Membership.

Honorary Life Direct Membership has been awarded to:
Dr Stuart J Carne, United Kingdom 1978
Dr A Hofmans (Deceased), Netherlands 1983
Dr Peter CY Lee, Hong Kong 1995
Dr Tomi Spenser, (Deceased) Israel 1995
Dr Alastair G Donald CBE, (Deceased) UK 1998
Dr Ole M Olsen, Denmark 1998
Dr Daniel J Ostergaard, USA 1998
Dr Fons Sips, Netherlands 1998
Dr Göran Sjönell, Sweden 1998
Mrs Marian C Fabb, Australia 2001
Professor Frede Olesen, Denmark 2001
Dr Reg Perkin, Canada 2001
Dr John McLeod, (Deceased) UK 2001
Dr Robert Higgins, USA 2001
Dr Michael Boland, Ireland 2004
Dr Eric McNair (Deceased) UK/ Zimbabwe 2004
Dr Philip Evans, United Kingdom, 2007
Professor Bruce L W Sparks, South Africa 2007
Professor Chris van Weel, Netherlands 2010

WONCA Foundation Award

The WONCA foundation award has been made possible by an initial donation of ten thousand pounds sterling from the Royal College of General Practitioners. This award is made once every three years at the WONCA council meeting.

The award is to be used to further the aim of “fostering and maintaining high standards of care in general practice/family medicine” by enabling physicians to travel to appropriate countries to instruct in general practice/family medicine, and appropriate physicians from developing countries to spend time in areas where they may develop specials skills and knowledge in general practice/family medicine.

The value of the award is determined by the executive committee. The current amount of the award is £1,500. A certificate is given with the award.

At WONCA Cancun 2010, Dr David Whittet, of New Zealand, received the WONCA Foundation award. Dr Whittet had previously received the WONCA Foundation award in 1998 and with his first award he worked to develop family medicine, in Orissa, in India. Dr Whittet had the motivation to repeat his work done in India and his 2010 award related to a Project to develop family medicine in rural Cambodia.

Application Procedure for WONCA Fellowship, Honorary Life Direct Membership and WONCA Foundation Award.

Nominations must be accompanied by a detailed curriculum vitae detailing the nominee’s contribution to the advancement of WONCA, his/her own organization and the discipline of general practice/family medicine on an international scale.

For the WONCA Foundation Award, details of the project to which the award would be applied, together with the candidate’s curriculum vitae are required. There is no official application form.

WONCA member organizations are invited to email nominations to Professor Michael Kidd and the WONCA World Secretariat:

[email protected]
[email protected]
Closing date: 15 January 2013

WONCA 5 Star Doctor award

This is an award to be conferred on family doctors, who in the opinion of the WONCA council, have made a significant impact on the health of individual and communities, through personal contributions to health care and the profession. It is instituted in an attempt to increase the global development of family medicine, global networking and partnership. The award is preferably given to those who are still active in the field for which they are nominated. Nominations are not limited to WONCA members.

The award will be offered on a regional basis and on a global basis. The regional awards may be awarded on an annual basis and the global award is awarded every third year (ie in the year of the WONCA world conference). The global award will take the form of a crystal trophy and a certificate.

The criteria for the WONCA Regional Five Star Doctor Award are:

1. A nominee must have the attributes of the 5-Star Doctor (see below).
2. A nominee should be a serving physician in mid-career who in addition to providing regular service:
   provides innovative services to a community or special group
   developed services where they were previously not available - supports colleagues in another region, country or college and also performs academic work (teaching, research, quality assurance) of exceptional quality and relevance
3. A nominee can work outside his or her region, or create something that can be used outside his or her region or serve as a role model to other regions
4. The attributes of the 5-star doctor are:

• a care provider, who considers the patient as an integral part of a family and the community and provides a high standard of clinical care (excluding or diagnosing serious illness and injury, managing chronic disease and disability and provides personalised preventive care whilst building a trusting patient- doctor relationship
  
  a decision maker, who chooses which technologies to apply ethically and cost-effectively while enhancing the care that he or she provides;
• a communicator, who is able to promote healthy lifestyles by emphatic explanation, thereby empowering individuals and groups to enhance and protect their health;
• a community leader, who has won the trust of the people among whom he or she works, who can reconcile individual and community health requirements and initiate action on behalf of the community;
• a team member, who can work harmoniously with individuals and organisations, within and outside the health care system, to meet his or her patients and community's needs.

Application Procedure for WONCA 5 Star Doctor Awards.

A completed nomination form (available from the WONCA secretariat) and supporting documents are required.

[email protected]
Member Organizations should email nominations to Professor Michael Kidd
[email protected]
and the relevant WONCA region president (these emails can be obtained from WONCA secretariat)
Closing date: 15 January 2013