Above all, love one another earnestly 1 Peter 4:8 #bekind
Dr suni thomas - General Practitioner Registrar
Dr Suni (pronounced Soo-Nee) was born in India and moved to Australia with her family about 10 years ago.
Her experience as a doctor is varied and extensive - a huge asset as a GP! Before coming to Geelong, she worked in Tassie and in hospitals in India and China!
Getting to know you and hearing your stories is what Dr Suni loves. She focuses on building strong, supportive relationships with you and offers personalised care so you can kick health goals together.
Besides being fluent in English, Dr Suni is fluent in Tamil and Malayalam. She can also speak conversational Mandarin!
Dr. Suni enjoys traveling and like many of us at Family Doctors Highton, gets excited about trying new cuisines. You should introduce her to your fave food spots in Geelong!
With her kind, gentle nature and breadth of experience, together with our strong medical team, you are assured of the high level medical care we are known for, in her very capable hands.
Dr Rachael marshall - General Practitioner Registrar
A true blue Geelong local, Dr Rachael was born here and went on to finish her medical degree at Deakin University in Waurn Ponds. Her passion for helping people is evident with her continued involvement in our community.
Dr Rachael has completed extra qualifications in Palliative Care and Child Health. She is a caring and sensitive doctor who patiently spends time learning about her patients and works hard to achieve the best outcomes for them.
Being a new mum has kept Dr Rachael very busy but in her spare time she enjoys walking her two dogs around the Barwon River. If you do walk along the river too, bring an extra snack for her doggos.
Dr Lucy Teague-Neeld - General Practitioner Registrar
Originally from Ocean Grove, Dr Lucy completed her medical degree at the University of Melbourne. She also studied in Shepparton, before returning home to settle in Geelong with her husband and 3 beautiful children.
Dr Lucy spent 8 years working as a Doctor with Barwon Health in a variety of areas, with a strong focus and interest in Obstetrics and Gynaecology.
Being a former BFNL and GFNL netballer (Go South Barwon!) gives Dr Lucy extra insights into sports, health and fitness. She is also beyond excited now that her own children are diving into the world of community sports as she can get back into the action with them!
On her days off, Dr Lucy loves nothing more than a stroll to Pako with her family for a coffee, and a few mandatory bubbacinos.
Dr Lucy's friendly and down to earth approach will certainly put you at ease as she supports you and your whole family on your health journeys. Dr Lucy looks forward to meeting you!
Dr Anne-Marie Do - General Practitioner Registrar
Dr Anne-Marie grew up in Sydney and completed her Medical Degree on the Gold Coast. Being an avid adventurer, she set her eyes on Geelong for its proximity to the coast and bright lights of Melbourne.
Dr Anne-Marie is kind, vibrant, curious and has a keen ear to patiently listen to your concerns. Her warm and welcoming demeanour connects beautifully with children and their families. The only infectious thing about her is her smile.
She has a wide range of experience including a stint in Paediatric Emergency Medicine. She is passionate about preventative health and takes a holistic approach to your care. She loves being the doctor for your whole family.
Outside of doctor-ing, her other loves are traveling, hiking and camping. She also enjoys baking sourdough bread. We are all excited to see what she would bake for her work fam!
Dr Amanda teo - specialist General Practitioner
Dr Amanda studied medicine at The University of Melbourne and worked at the Austin and in public health for few years before deciding to specialise as a GP.
She loves living in Regional Victoria having spent 8 years in Hamilton (where she worked with Dr Yota!!) before settling in Geelong with her beautiful family.
Dr Amanda is a very experienced GP with a Diploma in Child Health. Being a recent mum to twins, she naturally enjoys looking after children and other fellow mums. Besides that, she will also journey with you if you live with a chronic disease.
She is thorough and meticulous as she spends time listening to your concerns. She also loves building a long term doctor patient relationship so she gets to know you and is well placed to make medical decisions with you.
Dr Amanda (like most here at Family Doctors Highton) is fond of exploring new food especially new eateries in Geelong. She relaxes by doing some baking or yoga and of course, watching streamed content – favourite indulgence being Korean Dramas!
Other than English, Dr Amanda is comfortable with conversational Mandarin, Hokkien and Bahasa Malaysia.
Fun fact: Dr Amanda and Michelle (our Dietitian and Practice Director) were both born on the island of Borneo!
Dr Ern Chang - Principal Specialist General Practitioner
Dr Ern has been a doctor for over 25 years and was voted Geelong's Best GP in 2019! He enjoys all aspects of General Practice including looking after young children and pregnant mums.
Dr Ern has earned street cred for being quite the medical sleuth. He enjoys the challenge of diagnosing and working with you to find the most suitable solutions. He takes the time to patiently listen to your health concerns and assess your needs in your context. Bonus: Dr Ern has extra training in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)!
Besides being the Principal GP at Family Doctors Highton, Dr Ern is also actively involved in teaching the next generation of doctors as a conjoint Senior Lecturer at Deakin University.
He's not all scrubs and mask, on nice days you will catch him on the roads trying to channel Cadel.
Dr Yota yoshimitsu- specialist general practitioner
Born in Japan, Dr Yota grew up in Melbourne and is fluent in both Japanese and English. He was an optometrist before deciding it would be cool to treat more than just eyes. He studied Medicine right here in Deakin University, Geelong before doing Specialist GP training in Southwest Victoria.
Dr Yota believes you deserve the best care possible at all stages of life. He enjoys taking care of your whole family from newborn bubs to nan and pop. You will love Dr Yota for his warmth and friendliness, and of course, his thoughtful and thorough medical care. He seeks to build a long-term therapeutic relationship with you. Dr Yota is particularly passionate about eyes (duh!) and the "cradle to grave" care framework which Family Doctors Highton holds close to our hearts.
Dr Yota is also “Teacher Yota” in his role as a Medical Educator for GP trainees.
He exercises the creative part of his brain by playing the viola with various orchestras including Corpus Medicorum and the Australian Doctors Orchestra. Living and working in Geelong means he can easily hit up the Avalon Airshow to feed his inner aviation geek!
Dr catherine Eltringham - Specialist General practitioner
Dr Catherine grew up in Regional Victoria and enjoys being a GP for your whole family, from birth to retirement and beyond! Dr Catherine has been a Doctor for over 20 years and continues to journey with patients with kindness, compassion and excellent medical practice. She generously teaches and trains new doctors to give back to our community.
Having worked with the Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-Operative, Dr Catherine is passionate about Indigenous health. You can also count on her for skin checks as she has extra training and experience in skin cancer medicine.
She's always up for a good joke, any time! Seriously, we hear her infectious laughter all the way from reception sometimes!
Watch her video (til the end!) to get to know her! You will love her, as we all do.
Michelle Funk - specialist dietitian
Michelle completed a Masters in Nutrition and Dietetics from Deakin University (DUX) and has worked in hospitals, private practice and a multinational company. Other than English, she speaks conversational Bahasa Malaysia, Mandarin, Cantonese and Hakka.
As an Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD) of over 20 years she is currently an ANZAED Credentialed Eating Disorder Clinician (CEDC). Michelle is an academic staff at the School of Medicine at Deakin University and worked in the Eating Disorders Programs at The Geelong Clinic.
Michelle has a real heart for helping people be at peace with food whatever their health needs. She will hold a safe, empathetic and non-judgemental space for you. Her practice is evidence-informed and uses the Non-Diet approach with elements of Intuitive and Mindful Eating.
She has extra training in nutritional psychiatry, CBT-e , FBT, and SSCM. She also has training and experience working with people who are neurodivergent. In addition, she is an Accredited Mental Health First Aider.
Michelle's light hearted, fun nature will put you at ease as you work together to reach your goals.
Deb Boseley - Practice Nurse
Born into a family of health care professionals, caring for others is literally in Deb’s blood. Her father was a well known and much loved GP in Geelong. Deb followed her heart to become a nurse when her children were in primary school. That was more than 10 years ago and she continues to develop and thrive in her role as a nurse today.
Deb has a genuine heart for people and is grateful for the privilege to care for others as she feels she is often there when they are at their most vulnerable. You will love her well-honed nursing skills, kindness and sense of humour!
Outside of nursing, Deb enjoys travelling, entertaining and hitting the dance floor! She is married and has 3 beautiful children. She and her husband walk 50km together every week! Kids? "they won’t even walk to the letter box with me!"
Deb is an indispensable part of our medical team and we are so blessed to have her. If you ever want to show her some love, just get her some chocolates. She LOVES chocolates.