After several years working across Emergency Medicine, Internal Medicine and Radiation Oncology in three different countries, Dr Agra Raj was ready for a different kind of medicine.
One where she could see patients beyond a single episode of illness, build relationships over time and create a little more balance between medicine and life outside of work.
Now working at The Doctors Bushland Beach in Townsville and undertaking the RACGP Fellowship Support Program (FSP), Agra is discovering a new side of medicine, and a very different way of thinking.
From India to the UK and Australia
Agra completed her MBBS in Kerala, India, in 2018 before spending four years working in Emergency Medicine.
Her career then took her to the UK, where she worked within the NHS for almost two years, predominantly in Internal Medicine.
At the end of 2024, Agra made another international move, this time to Australia. She initially continued along the hospital pathway, working in Emergency Medicine at Townsville University Hospital before later moving into Radiation Oncology.
After gaining Australian general registration, she began thinking seriously about what she wanted the next stage of her medical career to look like.
For Agra, that meant moving beyond hospital medicine and into general practice.
Looking beyond the immediate problem
After years of treating patients in hospital settings, one of the biggest things Agra felt was missing was continuity of care.
“In the hospital, you often meet someone during one of the most acute moments of their life, treat the immediate problem, and then may never see them again,” she says.
General practice offered something different.
It gave her the opportunity to manage acute presentations while also looking at the bigger picture, prevention, chronic disease management and the many factors influencing a patient's health over time.
“I can follow patients over time, focus on prevention and chronic disease, and get to know patients and their families.”
The variety of general practice also appealed to her, along with the opportunity to develop areas of special interest throughout her career.
But there was another important consideration: work–life balance.
After years of hospital shifts, nights, weekends and unpredictable schedules, Agra wanted to continue doing challenging and meaningful clinical work while having more quality time with her husband, family and life outside medicine.
General practice offered the combination she was looking for.
Finding her pathway into general practice
After obtaining Australian general registration, Agra initially transitioned from hospital medicine into community general practice through a pre-fellowship position.
She subsequently commenced the RACGP Fellowship Support Program and is now working towards Fellowship of the RACGP while practising at The Doctors Bushland Beach.
Her experience across India, the UK and the Australian hospital system provided a broad clinical foundation for the move, but stepping into Australian general practice still brought plenty of new learning.
“It was exciting, but definitely an adjustment!”
Her Emergency Medicine background gave her confidence in assessing unwell patients, recognising red flags and making decisions under pressure. What changed was the environment in which those decisions were being made.
“In hospital, there is usually a large team around you and investigations are readily available. In General Practice, you are often the first person deciding what needs investigation, what can safely be managed in the community, who needs referral and who needs urgent escalation.”
Alongside the clinical adjustment came the practicalities of Australian general practice, Medicare, billing, referral pathways, practice software and primary care guidelines.
The first few months involved a significant amount of learning, but with experience has come greater confidence.
A different rhythm of medicine
Agra's working day now looks very different from her previous hospital roles.
In a single GP session, she might see a child with an acute illness, someone seeking mental health support, a woman needing contraception or pregnancy care, a patient managing diabetes or hypertension, and an older patient living with multiple chronic conditions.
It is that variety she particularly enjoys.
There is also a different rhythm to her working week.
“My working hours are more predictable, which has made it easier to plan my life outside work and spend quality time with my family,” Agra says.
“Medicine is still a major part of my life, but I feel I can now create a healthier balance between being a doctor and having time for myself and the people who are important to me.”
Learning to become comfortable with uncertainty
Perhaps the biggest adjustment, however, has not been practical at all.
It has been learning to become comfortable with uncertainty.
Coming from Emergency Medicine, Agra was accustomed to an environment where investigations could often help establish a diagnosis relatively quickly. General practice frequently begins much earlier in the patient's journey.
Patients may present before their symptoms have fully developed or before the diagnosis is clear.
“I've learned that good General Practice isn't always about reaching a diagnosis during the first consultation,” she says.
“Sometimes it is about assessing risk, ruling out red flags, making a sensible initial plan, safety-netting well and reviewing the patient over time.”
For Agra, becoming comfortable with that process has represented one of the biggest changes in her clinical thinking.
Building relationships beyond one consultation
It has also led to one of the most rewarding parts of her transition: continuity of care.
After years of treating acute illness, Agra can now see what happens after the initial consultation.
“It is very satisfying when someone comes back and you can see that something you discussed or started at their previous appointment has genuinely helped them.”
She has also enjoyed getting to know patients beyond the medical problem that first brought them through the door.
“General Practice has shown me another side of medicine, the opportunity to prevent illness, identify problems early and support someone over a much longer period of their life.”
Developing a career around her interests
As Agra progresses towards RACGP Fellowship, she is already thinking about the areas she would like to develop further.
Women's Health is a particular interest, including contraception, reproductive health, pregnancy-related care, PCOS and menopause.
She is also interested in Paediatrics, Mental Health, obesity management, chronic disease and preventive medicine, and would eventually like to develop further skills in Skin Cancer Medicine.
“One of the things I like about General Practice is that there is so much scope to develop particular interests while still maintaining broad clinical practice.”
Her longer-term goal is to become the kind of GP who can care for patients through different stages of their lives, rather than focusing on a single episode of illness.
With an interest in learning and teaching, she would also like medical education to become part of her career in the future.
Don't underestimate general practice
For hospital doctors considering a similar move, Agra has one key piece of advice: don't underestimate general practice.
“Before working in it, it can be easy to think that moving from hospital medicine into GP means stepping away from complex medicine. My experience has actually been the opposite.”
She says the breadth of presentations requires a wide knowledge base, while GPs must also be comfortable making independent decisions, managing uncertainty and identifying the small number of seriously unwell patients among many routine presentations.
Hospital experience, she believes, provides an incredibly valuable foundation, but general practice brings an entirely new set of challenges.
For Agra, those challenges have also brought the things she was searching for when she first considered leaving hospital medicine.
“Clinical variety, independence, long-term patient relationships, opportunities to develop my own interests, and a better balance between my career and family life.”
And as she continues working towards Fellowship in Townsville, Agra is only at the beginning of where her GP career might take her.
If you’re looking to make the move from hospital medicine into General Practice, our team can help guide you through every step of your journey.
Get in touch for a confidential chat or explore current GP opportunities across Australia.
Brad Bilinsky
Senior Consultant
+61 428 392 777
brad.bilinsky@dxcmedical.com.au
