Dr Giovana Celli Marchett has only recently begun her time at Manning Hospital but is already feeling at home surrounded by a close team and strong local community.
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Giovana is the new Medical Oncologist Fellow and will complement the specialist care already provided to the Manning and Great Lakes area by Dr Edward Livshin.
“I’m really enjoying my new role at Manning Hospital,” says Giovana.
“It is a very busy position with a lot of responsibility, which I love, and it provides me with a lot of contact with staff and patients. I really thrive working as part of a team — and this position gives me close contact with the nurses, clinical care coordinators and allied health providers.”
Giovana comes to Manning from the Calvary Mater Newcastle hospital where she held the position of Medical Oncology Advanced Trainee since mid-2015. Prior to this she worked at Port Macquarie Base Hospital and before then, Nambour General Hospital where she was a Basic Physician Trainee.
Partial to coastal Australian cities, Giovana is a beach lover who often spends her days off enjoying the salt and sand. It’s no surprise given Giovana and her family are from Brazil, which like Australia is home to some of the world’s most beautiful beaches.
Seven years ago, Giovana and her husband packed their bags and set flight to the place Giovana called the country of opportunity, which promised a great lifestyle and an ideal place to raise a family. And they haven’t looked back.
“When I first moved to Australia, people would call me Gloria after the Modern Family character because of my accent, the way I moved and the way I used my hands,” says Giovana jovially.
Giovana praises Australia’s public health care system and the opportunity it provides to patients, something that isn’t available to Brazilians.
“As an oncologist in Brazil, we had the same knowledge available to us as in Australia but not the resources for public patients,” she says.
“The care I am able to provide for public patients in Australia is amazing. For example, the access to new drugs and therapies, the low wait times and hospital availability means more people are cared for and have a better outcome.”
Being promoted to her new position at Manning Hospital is one of Giovana’s proudest career moments to date.
“Every day it is so rewarding to help people as a medical oncologist,” says Giovana.
“To help people to get through the difficult times in their lives, whether it be providing comfort through an unpleasant situation or giving hope when there is hope, is one of the reasons I became a doctor. And what I love about being a medical oncologist.”
Giovana looks forward to being part of the future of medical oncology and is fascinated and excited by advances including immunotherapy and target therapy. She also hopes to contribute to positive changes over the next five years at Manning Hospital, including reducing patient wait times and introducing clinical trials close to home for patients.
In the essence of Giovana’s personal motto: “Never leave that till tomorrow, which you can do today”.
This article first appeared in Hunter New England Health’s Health Matters Autumn 2018 edition.