Clinical Teachers Recognised
The Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences at the University of Auckland acknowledged two Northland DHB clinical teachers for their outstanding and valuable teaching contributions in their respective fields at the Distinguished Clinical Teacher Awards earlier this month.
Dr Lucille Wilkinson was awarded Distinguished Clinical Teacher for Medicine and Dr Jennifer Blasingame Distinguished Clinical Teacher for Obstetrics & Gynaecology.
Both Dr Wilkinson and Dr Blasingame have made substantial contributions to clinical teaching in the Faculty over many years and carried heavier teaching workloads than many of their peers, including assuming leadership positions in clinical teaching, delivery and participating in teaching development or new course establishment.
Dr Wilkinson graduated from the University of Otago Medical School in 1990 and works clinically as a specialist general physician and clinical director of the Admission and Planning Unit at Northland District Health Board. Before this role, she worked for several years as a general and obstetric physician at Auckland District Health Board. 
While at both Northland and Auckland DHBs, Dr Wilkinson has taken an active and sustained role in teaching, including MBChB Year 4, 5 and 6 students and midwifery students at National Women’s Hospital. In Whangarei, she has introduced a comprehensive Year 6 MBChB teaching programme which has received positive feedback from students.
Additionally, Dr Wilkinson provides clinical teaching and medical education in the Royal Australasian College of Physicians post-graduate training programmes and has other clinical leadership roles, including with the Ministry of Health.
The School of Medicine said they are grateful for the role Dr Wilkinson has played in teaching programme development in Whangarei and are delighted to award her the Distinguished Clinical Teacher Award in recognition of the long and positive contribution she has brought to teaching.
After graduating as a Doctor of Medicine in 1997 from Columbia University, New York, Dr Blasingame completed her residency in Obstetrics and Gynaecology (O & G) at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, in 2001. She has been working clinically in New Zealand as a consultant in O & G at Northland District Health Board since 2009. 
Dr Blasingame leads the MBChB Year 5 Obstetrics and Gynaecology medical student teaching and has done so for the last ten years, taking a heavier teaching load than many clinical teachers in other locations. For the last two years, she has also supervised the MBChB Year 6 Obstetrics and Gynaecology programme. Student achievement has been excellent, which is a testament to the teaching leadership she provides at Whangarei.
Feedback from both medical students and academic coordinators is overwhelmingly positive. The department has seen this reflected in senior house officers returning to Northland and taking up specialist training in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Dr Blasingame is an invaluable member of the clinical and teaching staff at Northland DHB.
University of Auckland academic coordinator based at Whangarei Hospital, Dr Win Bennett, offered his congratulations to both the doctors and said he is delighted to see teachers in Northland receive the recognition they deserve. “These awards reflect the high level of teaching provided in Northland to medical students.”
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