I was born in Kobe, Japan, and arrived in Australia in 1969 when aged 7, when my father was transferred to Australia on business. Having received most of my primary schooling in Sydney and Melbourne, my family returned to Japan in 1974 but returned to Australia in 1975 when my father was again transferred to Sydney. Most of my high school years were at Barker College, Hornsby, where I completed my HSC in 1979.
I went to University of NSW for undergraduate medical training in 1980, and graduated with Honours in 1985. Whilst at UNSW, I was attached to Prince of Wales and the former Prince Henry Hospital for clinical attachment. I have fond memories of lining up with other medical students to listen to the Pacific Island patients with rheumatic valvular disease and trying to diagnose their valve disorder… this was where my interest in cardiology began. Internship and my junior hospital years were spent mostly at Royal North Shore Hospital and its secondment hospitals. Having passed my FRACP specialist examinations in 1992, I did 4 years of dedicated cardiology training at The Canberra Hospital, Royal North Shore Hospital and St. George Hospital. I am also Fellow of Cardiac Society of Australia & New Zealand (CSANZ).
I joined what was later to become Peninsula Cardiology Group in 1996, alongside my senior colleagues Dr David Grout and Dr Thomas Gavaghan. I spent the next quarter of a century seeing outpatients from Northern Beaches area, and inpatients as part of both general and interventional cardiology services at Sydney Adventist Hospital and Northern Beaches Hospital. I was fortunate to be around when incredible progress was being made in cardiology, including introduction of thrombolytic therapy in the late 1980’s, introduction of first statin in late 1980’s, switch from thrombolysis to cather-based emergency PCI for treatment of acute myocardial infarction in early 1990’s, as well as rapid adoption of devices including defibrillators, biventricular pacing, percutaneous left atrial appendage (LAA) closure devices and percutaneous valvular devices such as TAVI and MitraClip. It’s been a fantastic, incredible ride with enormous professional satisfaction ! Unfortunately owing to my own health issues, I had to hand over my practice to Dr Harry Klimis in September 2023. I now work as part-time locum for Dr Klimis and other colleagues, predominantly helping out with diagnostic exercise stress echo/dobutamine stress echo assessments, as well as holiday cover.
Although I am no longer associated with cardiac cath lab or inpatient work, my interests remain in general cardiology and echocardiography. My key strengths would be utilising my diagnostic acumen accumulated after 4 decades working as a doctor, empathy to patients and good communication skills.
Outside the work environment, I live in Manly and greatly enjoy this beautiful part of Sydney, including regular bushwalks and kayaking. I have a daughter at Newcastle University looking at a medical career. I enjoy pretending to be a “foodie”, dining out at nice restaurants as well as cooking at home for family and friends exploring new recipes. I love recorded and live music, with the blues my favoured genre. With the unfortunate demise of Byron Bluesfest which I attended regularly, you may see me amongst the crowd at The Enmore Theatre or The Factory in Marrickville. I also subscribe to Sydney Theatre Company and Sydney Symphony Orchestra with friends.
