A local doctor has been acknowledged for outstanding contributions to general practice and health equity for refugee and asylum communities.
Dr Amireh Fakhouri was awarded the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners’ (RACGP) Victorian GP in Training of the Year.
Dr Fakhouri, who received her RACGP fellowship a few weeks ago, practises at Armstrong Creek Doctors and Utopia Refugee & Asylum Seeker Health in Hoppers Crossing.
She said she was “quite surprised and somewhat embarrassed” to receive the award.
“It feels great to be recognised for the efforts I’ve put in advocating for a lot of issues, whether it’s refugees, Muslim health care professionals or women’s health,” Dr Fakhouri said.
Born in Jordan and relocating with her family to Melbourne via New Zealand when she was 10 years old, she completed her undergraduate degree in biomedical science at Deakin in Geelong.
“Waurn Ponds was just Coles and a pharmacy, now it’s just boomed,” she said.
After completing a degree in medicine and working in the hospital system for six years Dr Fakhouri joined the federal Department of Health and Aged Care as a senior policy consultant.
“I saw how policy was done on a higher level, but it was not connected to the patient,” she said.
“I ended up wanting to focus on building Venus and having an impact on a grassroots level.”
Venus Women’s Health is a GP-led women’s health service founded by Dr Fakhouri, connecting women with specialised care.
“Being a GP is not just a career for me, it is part of who I am,” she said.
“I draw my resilience and determination from my Palestinian heritage, and I hope to show younger doctors that with perseverance they can create meaningful change.”
