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GET TO KNOW US
GENERAL PRACTITIONERS
Dealing with health issues can be a difficult situation. You shouldn’t have to go it alone. The Otorohanga Medical Centre team of certified, highly skilled, and experienced care providers always has our patients’ best interests and wellbeing at heart. Meet the faces that are running our Medical Center, and schedule an appointment today.
DR. MICHAEL BECKER
Michael was born in Cape Town and studied medicine at the University of Cape Town.
He has studied and worked in London, San Diego, Cape Town and the Sunshine Coast.
He moved to Hamilton in 1996 and worked at Waikato Hospital and Medlab Hamilton.
His professional interests include GP work and Allergies.
Michael is married to Michelle from Elstow, near Te Aroha. They have four children and live in the hills near Raglan.
Michael's hobbies mostly involve working his property and maintaining his house, beekeeping, drinking wine, enjoying his dogs, and persuading his boys to leave their rooms and do fun stuff outside.
He works on Fridays.
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DR. RUSS FERNANDEZ
Russ is one of the three medical centre owners. Russ graduated in India in 1991 before doing more training in Ireland.Â
His fellowship in General Surgery was completed in Scotland. He trained in ear, nose and throat surgery for five years, then General Medicine and Paediatrics. Â
He started a private practice in Ireland in 2006 and has also trained in cosmetic medicine and dermatology.
He works Mondays-Fridays.
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DR. JO ANN FRANCISCO
Jo Ann is one of the three GP-Owners in the medical centre. Jo Ann moved to New Zealand from Florida. She is a Diplomate of the American Board of Family Medicine who completed her Family Medicine Residency training in Ohio.  She has special interests in Women's Health, Sports Medicine and Geriatrics. She is also the Beattie Home Physician. Jo Ann started working in Levin in 2012 and then moved to Otorohanga in 2014.
She enjoys the friendly Otorohanga community and the New Zealand outdoors. She works Monday-Wednesdays and Fridays.
DR. BHANU SIVAKUMAR
Bhanu studied medicine in India and is a qualified general and specialist anaesthetist with twenty years' experience, including in accident and emergency.Â
She worked in public and private hospitals in India and overseas during this time. Bhanu also practised as a part time GP while in India for about 10 years. After completing the Australian and New Zealand medical council registration examinations, she joined Otomed Ltd as a GP in 2013.Â
Her special interests as a GP lie in counselling and practising a holistic approach to medicine. She is also keen about quality in health care having worked as a consumer liaison coordinator in the quality and safety department at Auckland Hospital for about two years.
Bhanu is married and is based in Auckland where she lives with her husband. She has a daughter who is a scientist in the USA. Her hobbies are reading, music, watching movies, painting, travelling and walking in the great outdoors. Â
She works Mondays-Thursdays.
DR. JOYCE WONG
Joyce is one of the three medical centre owners. She graduated from the University of Auckland School of Medicine in 2003.Â
After working in hospitals in Hamilton, Invercargill and Rotorua for five years, she moved to Otorohanga to try rural medicine in 2008 and has never left.
Joyce has a Diploma in Child Health. She lives in Otorohanga with her husband Dave and their two children.
DR. JOSH COULTER
My name is Josh Coulter and I am a Rural Hospital Medicine advanced trainee. I will be at Otorohanga Medical Centre for 1 year and this is a special place to me as I was here as a medical student many years ago. I have recently moved to the Waikato from Auckland with my wife and two children and we look forward to getting to know the Otorohanga community.
I truly believe that in treating the person and not merely the disease, greater success will be achieved. I will always do my best to help you in your health journey. My specialty interests are acute/emergency presentations, respiratory medicine, obstetric medicine and paediatrics.
In my spare time I enjoy river fly fishing and love to watch movies, as I am a bit of a film buff. I hope to build a therapeutic relationship with you over 2024 and am eager to help you in these difficult times we live in.
DR PETER TRIBE
My name is Peter Tribe, I graduated in medicine at Melbourne University then worked in Public Health in Monash University & practiced in an outer Melbourne general practice for 28 years. I came to NZ in 2006 with my wife, Katherine (PhD in Agricultural Science), researcher at AgResearch. Since then I have been in rural NZ general practice for 18 years. I love tramping, gardening and sometimes play guitar in the church band.