The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) has awarded Fellowships to three Centre for Academic Primary Care (CAPC) researchers: Professor Katrina Turner, Dr Jessica Watson and Dr Ciaran Conway.
RCGP Fellowships are the highest grade of membership, and a mark of excellence and recognition of distinguished contribution to general practice.
The awards were presented at a ceremony in London on 17 November.
About the awardees
Professor Katrina Turner
Katrina Turner is Professor of Primary Care Research, Head of CAPC, and Head of Section of Applied Health Research in Bristol Medical School. Katrina has worked in health service/primary care research for over 20 years. She is a qualitative methodologist with a disciplinary background in social sciences, who has applied her expertise to both teaching and research.
Katrina has taught undergraduate medical students and supervised PhDs, MScs, Foundation Year 2 doctors and GP Academic Clinical Fellows. As co-lead of the helical theme in behavioural and social sciences, she has incorporated psychology and social science teaching into all five years of Bristol’s MB ChB degree.
Katrina’s research has involved developing and evaluating complex health interventions, and integrating qualitative studies within large randomised controlled trials to improve trial delivery, aid interpretation of trial results, and to inform implementation of interventions across the NHS. Her research has informed NICE guidelines, been cited in Government documents and presented to the House of Commons.
On receiving her Honorary Fellowship, Professor Turner said:
“I am absolutely delighted to receive this award and very touched that colleagues thought enough about me and my work to submit an application on my behalf. The ceremony was wonderful and a day I will always remember. It felt such a privilege to receive my award from Professor Dame Clare Gerada, who this year steps down as President of the College.”
Dr Jessica Watson
Jessica Watson is a GP and NIHR Clinical Lecturer in General Practice at CAPC. Jess has a special interest in how GPs use tests in primary care. Her research uses a mixture of qualitative and quantitative methods to answer questions about when doctors should use blood tests, how they should interpret results, and how to share information about tests with patients. Her recent work has focused on the use of inflammatory marker blood tests.
Jess is also Chair of PACT – the Primary Care Academic Collaborative – a network bringing together GPs from across the country to engage in research.
Dr Watson said:
“I am honoured to be recognised for this award from the RCGP alongside my exceptional colleagues in the Centre for Academic Primary Care. It is wonderful to see our department and our research receiving this national recognition, and I am hugely grateful to all the colleagues and patients who have helped me achieve this.”
Dr Ciaran Conway
Ciaran Conway is a practising GP in Gloucestershire and Clinical Lecturer at CAPC.
He has led the third year GP placement at Bristol Medical School since 2018. This 32-session, year-long programme is delivered annually to approximately 270 students across more than 45 practices in the South West of England.
Since 2017 he has been one of the editors of the RCGP’s postgraduate curriculum, helping to ensure that it meets the standards required for both GMC approval and implementation in MRCGP assessments. Ciaran is also Clinical Lead for GPSelfTest – the RCGP’s online question bank.
More recently, Ciaran has joined the editorial board of the British Journal of General Practice and has been working with Pancreatic Cancer UK on a voluntary basis on a variety of projects.
Dr Conway said:
“It was a great honour to receive FRCGP and I was grateful for the opportunity at the ceremony to dedicate this fellowship to my late father.”
About the Centre for Academic Primary
The Centre for Academic Primary Care (CAPC) at the University of Bristol is a leading centre for primary care research in the UK, one of nine forming the NIHR School for Primary Care Research. It sits within Bristol Medical School, an internationally recognised centre of excellence for population health research and teaching.
Follow on ‘X’: @capcbristol and LinkedIn.
