The Geoffrey Marel Medal

The Geoffrey Marel Medal is given to honour the exceptional contribution that a recipient has made to the advancement of prevocational medical educational training.

The Award is made by the Confederation of Postgraduate Medical Education Council in consultation with the State and Territory Post Graduate Medical Councils. To view award criteria click here

Current Geoffrey Marel Medallist

Professor Lou Landau was awarded the Geoffrey Marel Medal at the 2009 National Prevocational Forum on the Gold Coast.

Lou has had a long and distinguished career in academic medicine, in which he hasmade significant contributions to all phases of medical education, to the practice of medicine and to medical research.

He was appointed as Professor of Paediatrics at the University of Western Australia in 1984 and held this position until taking on the role of Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry at UWA from 1996 to 2004.  As dean he developed the UWA Rural Clinical School and Centre for Aboriginal Medical and Dental Health, and introduced significant curriculum changes, including a graduate entry medical course.

He was Founding Chairman of the Western Australian Research Institute for Child Health.  He has served on nimerous state and national committees and boards, including:  The Medical Board of Western Australia; the Australian Medical Council's Medical Schools Accreditation and Recognition of Medical Specialties Committees; The Royal Australasian College of Physicians Court of Examiners; The Australian Drug Evaluation Committee; and the National Health and Medical Research Council's Child Health and Health Care Committees.  He has recently been appointed as Director of the Medical Schools Outcomes Database project.

He was appointed Chair of the Postgraduate Medical Council of Western Australia in 2004 and Director of Medical Workforce in the Health Department of Western Australia in 2006.  He was Deputy Chair of the Confederation of Postgraduate Medical Education Councils from 2005-2007 and has been Chair for the last 2 years.

In the prevocational domain, Lou has been the person primarily responsible for the establishment and development of PMCWA over the last 5 years.  Under his leadership, PMCWA has had a major impact on the quality of prevocational training in Western Australia.

Over that time, he has played an increasingly important role in CPMEC, culminating in his leadership of the Confederation during a period of significant growth and increasing profile and influence.

Lou has provided strong, wise and inclusive leadership for the Postgraduate Medical Council of Western Australia over the last 5 years.  He has led the establishment and growth of PMCWA as it replaced the Medical Board's Prevocational Training and Accreditation Committee and expanded into a wide range of activities.

He oversaw the introduction of the Strategic Plan which guideed PMCWA in its early years and has led to increasing involvement in educational programs and workforce development.  His close liaison with the West Australian Department of Health has been critical in planning prevocational training positions to accommodate the very significant expansion of places in Western Australian medical schools.

He has overseen the development of range of important guidelines and standards for prevocational training in Western Australia. He has brought about a significant increase in the role of junior doctors on PMCWA committees. He also coordinated a very successful National Prevocational Forum in Perth in 2005.

 

During his time as Chair of PMCWA and more recently as Chair of CPMEC, he has been actively involved in the full range of the Confederation’s activities, including important roles guiding the development of the Australian Curriculum Framework for Junior Doctors and the Prevocational Medical Accreditation Framework. Other notable achievements include his oversight of a new CPMEC constitution and governance structure, and his roles in the introduction of the Junior Doctor of the Year award and a national grouping for State JMO Forums

 

He has ably represented CPMEC on numerous bodies; the Australian Medical Council, the Medical Training Review Panel, the Committee of Presidents of Medical Colleges, Medical Deans of Australia and New Zealand, COAG Committees overseeing IMG accreditation, the MedEd Conference Steering Committee and the PGPPP National Advisory Council.

 

He has also played a key role in advancing the interests of prevocational training and CPMEC in health reform, particularly through his oversight of submissions to the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission, the National Health Workforce Taskforce and the review of the Medical Training and Review Panel

 

CPMEC has undergone significant growth under his leadership and has developed a strong national profile as the peak body in prevocational medical education and training.

 

Lou is an outstanding recipient of the Medal. His long and distinguished career in medical education; highly significant role in prevocational education in Western Australia and nationally over the last 5 years; and leadership of the Confederation of Postgraduate Medical Councils over the last 2 years are testimony to this. Lou has been strategic, energetic, thoughtful and inclusive and his capacity to engage with Postgraduate Councils, recent graduates, educators and State and Commonwealth officials has been a key factor in the success of the Confederation.

 

Previous Geoffrey Marel Medallists

2008

Dr Geoffrey Keogh

2007

Professor Barry McGrath

2006

Professor Peter Roeser

2005

Dr Patrick Hertnon
Prof Geoffrey Dahlenburg

2004

Dr Simon Willcock
Mr Robert Wells

2003

Late Prof Alan Walker

2002

Dr Peter Livingstone