Media Release
10 January 2022
GPRA welcomes new President and Chair
Dr Karyn Matterson
General Practice Registrars Australia today announced the appointment of a new President, Dr Karyn Matterson, and Chair, Mrs Nicki Herriot.
Dr Matterson and Mrs Herriot are both current members of the Board. They were elected to their new positions at GPRA’s annual general meeting in November and began their new roles this month.
Dr Matterson replaces Dr Antony Bolton as President, and Mrs Herriot takes on the Chair’s role from Mr Scott Williams.
GPRA CEO, Ms Jo-anne Chapman, congratulated the two directors.
“We are delighted that Karyn and Nicki have taken on these key roles for GPRA. Both have demonstrated a strong commitment to the work we do to support and advocate for GPs in specialty training, Junior Medical Officers and medical students,” Ms Chapman said.
Dr Matterson is a specialist general practitioner who works on a locum basis across Australia and lives in Brisbane. She is an 11-year defence force veteran, serving as a doctor in the Royal Australian Air Force, and continues to work on Australian Defence Force bases. Dr Matterson has served on health committees and working groups with GPRA and the RACGP, with a particular focus on GP registrars’ pay, terms and conditions and health reform.
Mrs Nicki Herriot
Mrs Herriot is an experienced non-executive and former senior human resources executive. Before joining GPRA she was the Chief Executive Officer of the Northern Territory Primary Health Network. Her areas of expertise are in strategy, corporate governance, compliance, stakeholder partnership and human resource strategy.
Dr Matterson thanked Dr Bolton and Mr Williams for their outstanding leadership of GPRA.
“During my Presidency my priority will be to represent our members and support all junior doctors regardless of what GP learning pathway they are on.
“This includes supporting internationally-trained medical graduates (IMGs) who are an integral part of our primary health care system.
“Reform is needed to ensure that IMGs and the IMG training pathway are supported properly with appropriate financial assistance.
“GPRA will continue to advocate for fair and equitable employment conditions for GPs in training, which is critical if we are to continue attracting good doctors to the GP speciality in Australia.
“Promoting general practice as the specialty of choice for hospital-based trainees will be another priority for us in 2023.
“There has never been a more critical time for the Federal Government to step forward and directly support training in the specialty of general practice to ensure it is an attractive option for junior doctors. We will be working tirelessly to represent general practice training to ensure the sustainability of our profession.”
Dr Matterson said GPRA would also work with the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners and the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine to ensure that the registrar training and education experience was well supported.
“As the Colleges deliver the new Australian General Practice Training Program there will be opportunities for us to work together to improve processes and procedures, which includes improving exam access and feedback.”
Dr Siobhan Hensey has joined the board as a member director. A GP living in Darwin, Dr Hensey has a particular interest in rural health and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health. She is also an experienced advocate for registrars having served as a Registrar Liaison Officer in the Northern Territory and on GPRA’s Advisory Council.
Mr Mark Grey joins the Board as an Appointed Director. Mr Grey has 25 years of experience as a chief executive officer and company director in marketing communications, the health and hospital sector and the e-commerce and digital economy sectors in Australia and overseas. He is the current President of MND Australia.
ENDS
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