A local doctor has been recognised nationally as WA’s best GP supervisor.
Silver Sands GP supervisor Jennifer Ellis was named WA supervisor of the year at the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners Awards, an annual gala honouring leading GPs and medical educators across Australia.
Dr Ellis started working at what was formerly known as Peel Connolly Medical Centre in 2020 before buying the business and changing its name to Silver Sands General Practice in 2023.
She said winning the award was a “tremendous surprise” after she was nominated by two of her colleagues.
“Knowing my work and effort has been recognised by those around me has left me speechless and grateful,” she said.
“I have dedicated my life to providing holistic and exceptional medical services to my fellow Mandurah residents. To be recognised at this level was beyond anything that I expected and I am so humbled by this award.”
David Hudson, who nominated Dr Ellis for the award, said she was the type of GP he wanted to see himself become.
“The most useful thing a supervisor can do for a registrar is to make a career in general practice look like a worthwhile and sustainable one. Dr Ellis does this not through anything she says, but through how she works,” Dr Hudson said.
“Watching how she runs Silver Sands — clinically, ethically and as a business — has shaped my own thinking more than any formal teaching could. “
Dr Ellis said she was most passionate about not only doing her job adequately but well.
“I care about and for my patients. I firmly believe in shared care and decision-making between doctor and patient,” she said.
“My job is to give my patients choices and explain them well enough to allow an informed decision.
“Delivering healthcare this way takes much longer than dictating treatment, but it improves compliance, patient outcomes, patient satisfaction, and my own sense of achievement by the end of the day.”