Aboriginal doctor receives 2011 AMA excellence in health care award

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Published in the HealthBulletin
Posted on:
8 June, 2011

An Aboriginal doctor has won the Australian Medical Association’s (AMA) Excellence in Health Care Award for 2011 for the development of Indigenous health workforce policy.

Dr Mark Wenitong, Associate Professor Adjunct, was presented with the award by AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, at the AMA’s annual conference in Brisbane. The Excellence in Health Care Award is made to an individual who has made a significant contribution to improving health or health care in Australia.

‘Dr Wenitong’s contribution to improving the health of Indigenous people has gone above and beyond that of a clinician,’ Dr Pesce said. ‘He is a role model for future generations of Indigenous people and a mentor for medical students and practitioners with a desire to work in Indigenous health.’ Dr Wenitong is from the Kabi Kabi tribal group of South Queensland and is the sixth Aboriginal doctor to graduate in Australia.