Fay Woodhouse (2010)
Cum scientia caritas 'with skill, tender loving care': The Robyn Cronnolly Bequest Essay

In 2007 the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP), received a bequest to be used for a history project. At the request of the family of the late Robyn Cronnolly, a staff member from 1994-2006. This essay was commissioned to celebrate the positive contributions made to the College by the staff and its members since its inception in 1958.

The scope of the project allowed only a small number of staff whom have made their own significant contribution to the College to be highlighted. The essay outlines some of the major milestones in the College's fifty-two year history. It briefly describes the earliest days of establishment and highlights periods of triumph, achievements in educational training, and the need to embrace challenge and change. From the outset, the College has responded to economic realities and shifts in social and political thinking. It therefore follows that individuals associated with the College have also responded to these contingencies. The individuals highlighted in this essay are amongst the great number of staff and members who have given 'above and beyond' the expectations of their College, and as such they are honoured.

Fay Woodhouse (2008)
Valuing the General Practitioner in Australian Society

In 2008, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners celebrated its golden jubilee. To acknowledge and celebrate their achievements, the RACGP commissioned an historical essay for their website.

Education, research, publications and preventive medicine have underpinned the activities of the College'sfifty-eight year history. However, the evolving nature of general practice and, in recent years, a greater emphasis on advocacy, rural health, Aboriginal health, and other matters, have all contributed to the broadening focus of the College and its membership. Social and political events, public policy and their outcomes, have also impacted upon the activities of the College.

As Australia continues to change in the twenty-first century, so too have the aims and objectives of the College evolved to better reflect Australian society and its needs. In particular, the College now represents more rural GPs than any other general practice organisation in Australia. The College has also witnessed major developments in its education, research and preventative medicine programs, making them available to enthusiastic general practitioners using the latest innovative technology. The College continues, as it has done for fifty years, to champion the diverse skills of general practitioners and believes that generalist skills are the foundation of the profession. The aim of the founding fathers was to ensure that the general practitioner continued to be the family doctor who would remain as counsellor, guide and friend to his patients.

Throughout the past fifty-eight years the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners has weathered the storms of change during which its actions have emphasised the value and importance of the general practitioner to Australian society.