The Annual John Dickson Award and Medal

John Dickson (1943 – 2017) – a GP with an interest in musculoskeletal (MSK) and rheumatological medicine – co-founded the PCR Society in 1986 and was the Society’s first President. He went on to specialise in this field but retained a focus on primary care, gaining both a national and international reputation in the field.

The PCR was the first GP Primary Care Society in the world. It remains the only primary care society for GPs and their teams in both MSK and rheumatological medicine worldwide.

John’s life work was driving the improvement of knowledge, education and research needs of primary care practitioners in order to equip them to efficiently and confidently manage their MSK patients’ needs, which account for around a third of GP workload.

He was known for his trademark kind and friendly approach, seeking out and supporting young enthusiastic people to develop their careers. His interest in his patients as people and pride in his work were what he sought to instil in the young practitioner. He passed on his belief of freely giving back to others, often summarised as ‘just pass it on’ when people wished to thank him.

The PCR Society approached John when they learnt of his diagnosis of incurable acute myeloid leukaemia, secondary to his earlier treatment for lymphoma. They were aware that John wanted his legacy of identifying and mentoring young, upcoming MSK and rheumatology health professionals in primary care to continue. The John Dickson Medal was established with his blessing and the aim “to celebrate and foster excellence in primary care musculoskeletal medicine”.

It is hoped that by receiving the award it will identify people and shine a constructive spotlight on them. The aim being to encourage others to support and mentor the recipients as John would have done, ultimately for the good of patients and their outcomes.

The award is given annually at the PCR Society’s Annual Conference in November. The nomination process for the Award will be announced shortly.