Picture: AMY MAYNARD
MILLICENT GP Dr Stephan Van Eeden received national recognition this week for his supervision role at the Medical Clinic Millicent.
Dr Van Eeden combines his own medical consulting at the Millicent clinic with supervision of GP registrars, with his efforts recognised by the General Practice Supervisors Australia.
Speaking after the announcement, Dr Van Eeden insisted the award was a team effort.
“I’m not really fussed by this sort of thing, as the medical clinic has a long and proud history of training doctors, well before I arrived here in 2002,” Dr Van Eeden said.
“These kinds of accolades should really go towards the clinic, as it’s a team effort in teaching young doctors here.
“But it has been an honour to train junior doctors who may or may not choose to work in country areas.
“What we try to do here is give them a positive experience in working in a country practice.”
Dr Van Eeden said the young registrars also used their training to decide what areas they would like to specialise in.
“The junior doctors that come here to Millicent soon become part of the fabric of the community,” he said.
“Everyone in the clinic becomes involved in the training process and the support that patients provide in the training is very encouraging.”
Dr Van Eeden is one of only 24 GPs recognised nationally in 2019 for providing over 10 years of service to supervising future doctors.
General Practice Supervisors Australia chair Dr Gerard Connors said GPs like Dr Van Eeden were attracted to supervision because having a hand in the growth of competence and confidence of GP registrars added another layer of complexity and interest to the role of a community GP.
“General practice supervisors are at the coal-face of GP training,” Dr Connors said.
“Our communities receive high quality care from trainees and GPs. It is the apprenticeship model that supports best health outcomes for patients and we are proud to recognise our colleagues for their many years of service.”
