Dr Elizabeth Kendrick will receive the Fraser Rose Medal after coming highest out of 1,700 candidates in the College’s entrance exam - the MRCGP - this year.

Regarded by many as the ‘gold standard’ of general practice, the MRCGP exam tests the quality of candidates’ skills over a number of areas including their medical knowledge, communications skills and clinical judgement skills.

Dr Roger Neighbour, President of the RCGP said: “More and more doctors are taking the MRCGP every year. Achievement of the exam and indeed membership of the RCGP are signs of a quality GP.”

Dr Elizabeth Kendrick said: “I’m thrilled to have achieved the award. It was a tough exam and I never expected to do this well. To prepare I undertook a College preparation course and formed a study group with colleagues. We learnt a lot from each other and it provided really good peer support.”

Dr Kendrick trained as a GP in Nottingham and has now returned to Northumberland where she spends half her working week at Guidepost Medical Centre in Northumberland. She also works at Blyth Community Hospital, where she is developing a career as a GP with a Special Interest in geriatric care.

The Fraser Rose Medal will be presented to Dr Kendrick at the RCGPs’ Annual General Meeting in London on Friday 12 November.

For more information please contact Heather Whitney at the RCGP press office on 020 7344 3137 or Dan Stern on 020 7344 3136 or email press@rcgp.org.uk. Out of hours contact number 07885 958632.

Notes to Editors

1. Past winners of the Fraser Rose Medal in the North of England include Dr Felicity Marsh, a GP from Northumberland, who won the award in 2002.

2. The Royal College of General Practitioners is the largest membership organisation in the United Kingdom solely for GPs. It aims to encourage and maintain the highest standards of general medical practice and to act as the “voice” of GPs on issues concerned with education; training; research; and clinical standards. Founded in 1952, the RCGP has over 21,000 members who are committed to improving patient care, developing their own skills and promoting general practice as a discipline. http://www.rcgp.org.uk

3. The Fraser Rose Medal has been awarded since 1972 and is in memory of Dr Fraser Rose, MRCGP, who too a leading part in the formation of the RCGP.

4. The membership examination (MRCGP) has played an important role in the development of an essential branch of medicine - general practice. This discipline is now taught, learned and tested through the use of contemporary clinical education and examination techniques. The MRCGP examination is often regarded as an end-point assessment for general practice for those completing vocational training. The majority of candidates are doctors at an early stage in their careers who see it as a means of motivating their studies and demonstrating their ability to prospective partners as well as joining the College. Some of those who sit the examination are, however, established principals.