GP Journeys: From Fiji to Bells Beach

GP Journeys: From Fiji to Bells Beach

  • November 1, 2022

Dr Shaneet Chand, originally from Fiji, is excited to now be calling Torquay in Victoria near Bells Beach home, after dreaming of bringing his family here for years.

In 2021, Shaneet made the move to Australia, originally working as a senior house officer at Bundaberg Hospital in Queensland, after completing his Australian Medical Council certificate. But he knew longer term he wanted to secure a GP position in Victoria, close to where he had family connections, and so reached out to Darren from DXC Medical via LinkedIn.

“Darren reassured me that working in Australia was a good step towards getting my general registration, and I stayed in touch with him. When we paid a visit to Victoria, I reached out to Karen from the DXC Medical team and she was happy to meet me that day. She made me feel like a priority, and showed me some great local clinics that were looking for GPs,” says Shaneet.

From there, the process started in earnest. Karen looked after the paperwork to secure Dr Chand a job at a family health clinic in Torquay, and he says she has made the whole experience seamless:

“DXC have been really helpful every step of the way. They’ve advised me on how to continue developing my career now that I’m here, and have even connected me with a really good migration lawyer to get my permanent residency application underway. I’ve had to do very little to make the transition to working here as a GP.”

Once the new job was confirmed, Shaneet made the move down to Victoria from Queensland, driving with his family and taking in many Australian sights along the way. Now that they’re getting settled in their new Victorian home, he says they’ve enjoyed sightseeing on the weekend and getting a feel for their new location:

“We’ve been driving around and taking in the sights - from Geelong City to Anglesea and of course the famous Bells Beach. It’s so great to be here.”

Shaneet says the new clinic has been really friendly and welcoming, and they’ve secured a rental home to live in, and have enrolled his daughter in a local school. He’s grateful to DXC Medical for seeing things through to help him reach this stage, all from an initial LinkedIn connection.

“Darren has made a point of keeping in touch with me over the past few years, and always making time to have a conversation about how things are progressing, and giving suggestions for how I could make my idea of working as a GP in Australia a reality. He was always available, and the whole team have been proactive and supportive, helping me understand the steps to take to get here,” says Shaneet. 

DXC Medical is committed to improving health outcomes within communities throughout Australia, by helping source high quality General Practitioners for Australian communities.

We wish Shaneet and his family all the best in their new life in Victoria, and will continue to work with him to achieve his future career goals.

Find out more about DXC Medical’s GP relocation services at: https://www.dxcmedical.com.au/about-us/

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