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GPs celebrate World Family Doctor Day
The theme for this year’s celebration is ‘Family Doctors: The Heart of Healthcare’.
GPs have been hailed for the invaluable and ongoing contribution they make to communities the world over.
The contribution GPs, family doctors and primary care teams make to healthcare system across the globe will once again be celebrated as part of World Family Doctor Day on 19 May.
The commemorative day, declared by WONCA in 2010, has become an annual celebration aimed at recognising the central role of family doctors in delivering personal, comprehensive, and continuous healthcare to patients.
RACGP President Dr Nicole Higgins told newsGP World Family Doctor Day is an important way of recognising the invaluable impact GPs have on their communities, which is reflected through this year’s ‘Heart of Healthcare’ theme.
‘GPs are the backbone of Australia’s healthcare system,’ Dr Higgins said.
‘We keep people healthy and out of hospital through managing chronic conditions and providing ongoing preventive care.
‘The GP’s place at the heart of primary healthcare has never been more critical in recent years, and the RACGP is here for our members every step of the way.’
The commemorative day has also been identified as an opportune time for GPs to register for this year’s WONCA World Conference, which is set to be held in Sydney later this year.
Chair of the WONCA 2023 Host Organising Committee and Adjunct Professor Karen Price marked World Family Doctor Day by paying tribute to and celebrating family doctors.
‘GPs provide high-quality, comprehensive care to more than 23 million Australians each year,’ she told newsGP.
‘As the most regularly accessed health professionals in Australia, GPs ensure continuity of care by being available throughout our patients’ lives.
‘We have one very long consultation with our patients extending over years – generalist care is complex, and GPs are experts in that complexity.’
The former RACGP President also encouraged as many GPs as possible to attend the upcoming conference, with is returning to Australian shores for the first time since Melbourne hosted the inaugural event in 1972.
‘WONCA 2023 is an opportunity for our GPs to celebrate primary care and reflect on what we have learnt throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and shape the future of primary care,’ she said.
‘It’s a historic occasion too, with the inauguration of an Australian GP President of WONCA in Associate Professor Karen Flegg. How proud we are.
‘The conference themes are recovery, reconnection and revival. We aim to do all of that too.
‘Come and join in the combined RACGP–WONCA conference. It’s going to be inspirational.’
The conference, scheduled for 22–24 October, will host family doctors, GPs, and primary healthcare specialists from around the world, as well as
high profile presenters from Australia and overseas who will share research and discuss best practice.
More information is available on the
WONCA website.
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WONCA World Conference 2023 World Family Doctor Day
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