Australian Medical Association Gold Medal – George Repin

The former Secretary General, Dr. George Dimitri Repin, was awarded the Associations Gold Medal, its highest honour, in recognition of I 7 years of devoted and exceptional service to the Association. The Medal was presented at a dinner in his honour in Sydney following his retirement in February.

The citation for the award said that Dr. Repin graduated in medicine from the University of Sydney in I 952 after a brilliant school and undergraduate career. Due to family circumstances he left medicine while a resident at Royal prince Alfred Hospital to engage in commerce, a field in which he was active for more than twelve years.

It was an unusual but productive prelude to a career of exceptional distinction in the service of his profession.

While in business Dr. Repin gained valuable management, political and industrial relations experience, being active on the councils of three industrial and trade organisations. Of one, the Catering Trades Organisation of New South Wales, he was the foundation President. He was also a member of the Apprenticeship Council and a number of conciliation committees for his industry.

His welcome return to medicine came in 1967 when he gained the Diploma in public Health at the University of Sydney. Two years later he was awarded the Diploma in Industrial Health of the Royal Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons of England after studying at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Subsequently he returned to teach at the School of public Health and Tropical Medicine in Sydney.

However, this was a brief interlude, and in 1970 he joined the Secretariat of the New South Wales Branch of the Australian Medical Association.

In 1972 he became Deputy Secretary General of the Australian Medical Association and was Secretary General from June 15. 1973. until his retirement on February 21,1987.

Along the way he became a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management, a Fellow of the Royal Australian College of Medical Administrators and a Fellow of the Australian Medical Association.

George Repin brought to the role of Secretary General an exceptional analytical intelligence, and a ferocious appetite for work. Tough and unyielding when necessary, yet always controlled and polite, he became a highly respected and formidable advocate for the medical profession. George Repin’s expertise as an advocate, negotiator and tactician was the envy of his adversaries.

He was confronted with his first major challenge within a few weeks of taking office – the Ludeke Medical Fees Tribunal. Throughout the 45 hearing days from July to December 1973 he displayed extraordinary tenacity, stamina and devotion in ensuring that the best possible case was presented at all times to an enquiry that represented a watershed in medical politics.
The same outstanding qualities were brought to bear on behalf of the profession throughout the next thirteen turbulent years of Medibank and Medicare interspersed with five different health schemes of the Coalition Government.

He also effected a successful long term strategy of building from very modest beginnings an efficient, highly professional and technically sophisticated organisation equipped to deal effectively and responsibly on behalf of the profession with the increasingly complex world of health care delivery. Thanks to his leadership and management skills the Association is now widely respected as a leader among national representative bodies. His absolute loyalty to his presidents, his Federal Council and his staff engendered a trust that helped him to achieve this goal.

He also made a major contribution through fostering and developing the participation of the Australian Medical Association in international medical affairs. Starting by re-establishing close communication with the New Zealand Ueaicat Association, which has led to annual exchange visits between senior officers of the two Associations, he extended his efforts to establishing and maintaining close ties with the American Medical Association, as well as adding to the long existing relationship with the British Medical Association.

As Secretary General he arranged visits to Australia of delegations of senior officers and officials of the American Medical Association and his close association with senior officers of that Association and his attendance at their meetings have been of inestimable value to the Australian Medical Association.