Dr Branko Sijnja, a Balclutha GP, has been awarded a Distinguished Fellowship of the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners.
The Distinguished Fellowship is awarded to fellows of the college who have made sustained contributions to general practice, medicine, or the health and wellbeing of the community.
Dr Sijnja, one of six GPs to receive the honour, has worked as a fulltime GP in Balclutha since 1974.
College president Dr Samantha Murton said after 47 years in general practice, Dr Sijnja would have changed the lives of many people in Balclutha, not only as a doctor but also as a member of the community.
When faced with the closure of a local hospital early in his career, Dr Sijnja was part of a group advocating for the creation of a purpose-built facility that would meet the community’s healthcare needs.
Two decades on, Dr Sijnja is still involved in the governance of Clutha Health First. He works in the clinic one day a week.
He spends the rest of his week mentoring up to 25 fifth-year medical students.
Another recipient was Dr Hamish Wilson, who has been involved in making significant changes to undergraduate medical education at the University of Otago, where he is an associate professor in the department of general practice and rural health.
In 2013 Dr Wilson co-authored a book, Being a Doctor: Understanding Medical Practice, which addresses the gap between medical theory and the realities of clinical practice.
The other recipient was Dr Susie Lawless.
She has worked as a GP at Amity Health Centre in Roslyn for two decades.
She played a key role in the centre becoming one of the first practices in Dunedin to achieve accreditation from the College of GPs and become a recognised training practice for registrars.
She was also part of a team which facilitated Amity Health Centre becoming one of the first four general practices in the country to adopt the Health Care Homes model, which promotes access to urgent and unplanned care, and provides more preventive care and better support for patients with complex health needs.
