When Professor Louis Jenkins received an email announcing he'd won a prestigious international award for 'Excellence in Health Care', his first instinct was to delete it. The message seemed too good to be true – surely it was spam. But when he finally investigated further, this professor in Family and Emergency Medicine at Stellenbosch University discovered he had indeed been selected for the Africa Five Star Doctor Award from the World Organisation of Family Doctors (WONCA).
“I was blown away," Jenkins admits.
The WONCA Five Star Doctor Award represents the pinnacle of achievement in family medicine, recognising doctors who excel across five critical domains: Care Provider, Decision Maker, Communicator, Community Leader, and Manager. These criteria, developed by Dr Charles Boelen during his 30-year tenure with the World Health Organisation, define what makes a truly exceptional physician in the modern healthcare landscape.
Jenkins' nomination came from Professor Bob Mash, Executive Head of Family Medicine at Stellenbosch University, though Jenkins himself remained modest about his chances. “I have so many amazing colleagues working across Africa that I didn't think too much of it. I'm surprised and humbled."
As the regional winner, Jenkins will represent Africa at the WONCA World Conference in Lisbon this September, where he'll be considered for the global Five Star Doctor Award while presenting his research to an international audience.
A passion for family medicine
Jenkins' passion for family medicine stems from its unique position at the intersection of comprehensive healthcare delivery. “It's a place where you get close to the people you're involved with in their lives from birth to death," he explains. “You're with people when they are born and when they are dying; you're involved in dealing with emergencies, chronic diseases and socio-cultural issues such as gender-based violence. You also do procedures and surgery."
This breadth of practice reflects Jenkins' belief in the critical role family physicians play, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. In Africa, family physicians serve as expert generalists capable of surgical, obstetrical and anaesthetic procedures while leading community-oriented primary care initiatives and training healthcare teams. It's a discipline that transcends traditional professional boundaries, requiring practitioners to be equally comfortable in operating theatres and community health centres.
Transforming medical education and healthcare systems
Jenkins' research interests focus on transforming medical education and healthcare systems. He's currently leading efforts to implement Work-Place Based Assessments (WPBA) in South Africa's postgraduate medical education system. This innovative approach captures learning and assessment data through e-portfolios over three to four years, moving away from traditional examination-based evaluation toward real-world competency assessment.
“In postgraduate medical education, there has been a global move towards WPBA, where registrars are assessed in the workplace," Jenkins explains. His work involves developing Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) – specific tasks that registrars must master before being trusted to perform them independently.
Impact of his efforts
The impact of Jenkins' mentorship extends far beyond South Africa's borders. He has supervised over 26 registrars completing their MMed research degrees, covering diverse topics from palliative care and tuberculosis to theatre efficiency and healthcare worker resilience. Through the African Research Collaboration, he's helping develop emerging family physicians across the continent.
One area particularly close to Jenkins' heart is palliative care research. “We are doing extensive research on how to improve home-based palliative care in communities," he notes, addressing a critical gap in healthcare delivery for patients with life-limiting conditions.
Jenkins' commitment to healthcare system improvement operates at multiple levels – from local management to national policy. He believes family physicians' broad perspective positions them uniquely to understand and improve complex healthcare systems. “The work of family physicians covers so many aspects, so their voices are increasingly being heard in understanding complex-adaptive systems to improve overall healthcare for patients in their communities."
Outside medicine, Jenkins finds balance through gardening on his smallholding outside George, where he particularly enjoys planting trees. He's also an avid reader of biographies and history, and treasures time with his wife and two daughters.
Reflecting on his recognition, Jenkins remains humble: “There are many exceptional doctors caring for communities and working very hard in Africa. I don't know how one can single out one colleague. None of us can work properly without a whole team of colleagues carrying one another."
