Emma Pritchard As a young child growing up in India, Dr Raman Grewal remembers being fascinated watching doctors walk down corridors in fancy white coats. Although he wasn’t wearing a white coat when he caught up with the Clarence Valley Independent recently, Dr Grewal, who started working as a general practitioner at the Ochre Medical Centre in Grafton earlier this month, is proud to be working in medicine and is excited to be establishing the next chapter of his professional career in the Clarence Valley. After studying and completing medical training in Ukraine from 1995 until 2002, Dr Grewal returned to India where he spent eight years working in ICU and Government hospitals before opening his own clinic to service smaller, village communities. After making the decision to relocate to Australia to explore new opportunities, Dr Grewal spent some time in Brisbane before briefly returning to India. It was during his return to his homeland that Dr Grewal and his family decided to come back to Australia. Upon their return, Dr Grewal got his “first breakthrough” when he started working at Lismore Base Hospital between 2017 and 2020 before the next pathway in his growing career brought him to Grafton, and an opportunity to pursue his GP training with the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP). Describing Grafton as a beautiful part of the world, and a place he and his family are happy to stay for the foreseeable future, Dr Grewal is enjoying being part of the team at the Ochre Medical Centre and the variety of work he undertakes as a GP. “It’s very rewarding; as a GP you’re in a better position to help your patients because you’re working across a broad spectrum,” Dr Grewal said. “I get to work with every age group, and I enjoy the variety because it is very interesting, and I like being able to help my patients.” While he is currently happy working as a general practitioner, Dr Grewal plans to work in palliative care and would like to see more doctors, especially in rural and regional communities, work in the specialist field. “Grafton has a growing aging population and its very important that we have the medical services available for those members of the community,” Dr Grewal said. “Grafton is beautiful, my family are settling here very nicely, the community is so supportive; we have an awesome team of doctors here and Carol Pachos (practice manager) is awesome as well and she is very supportive of me and my family too. “It would be nice to stay in Grafton long term because I’m not a metropolitan guy. “I like the area; I like smaller communities and I feel very welcome here.” Dr Grewal works five days at the Orche Medical Centre in Grafton. To book an appointment, please call 6640 3600.