Clayton General Paediatrics

Clayton General Paediatrics at Monash Medical Centre has a team of seven paediatricians providing inpatient care, along with the support of junior medical staff.

A number of other paediatricians support our team in providing outpatient care.

Our department has a strong focus on evidence-based medicine, patient and family centred care, education and training. We are actively involved in research to contribute to the evidence base for excellence in paediatric care.

Dr Cathy McAdam, Head of the Department of General Paediatrics, Monash Children’s Hospital

Dr Cathy McAdam is Service Director for General and Community Paediatrics, Monash Health.

She is a general paediatrician who leads our expert team at all three inpatient sites – Monash Children’s Hospital, Clayton, Dandenong Hospital and Casey Hospital. She also oversees the community clinic sites at Cranbourne, Pakenham and Dandenong.

Dr McAdam has many years’ experience in both acute inpatient work as well as the range of developmental and behavioural paediatrics seen in the community. She started as a consultant at Dandenong Hospital in 1998 and has been a leader in expanding neonatal and paediatric services across the south-east region of Melbourne. Her small private practice moved from Dandenong to Monash Children’s Private Clinic (MCPC) in Clayton in 2018.

As well as being an adjunct lecturer for Monash University, Cathy is an Advanced Paediatric Life Support (APLS) instructor teaching health professionals how to manage seriously unwell or injured children.

Dr McAdam has a keen interest in Indigenous health and for 10 years had a regular appointment as a paediatrician in the remote Kimberley region in Western Australia. In 2017, Dr McAdam was a participant in the Williamson Community Leadership Program and in 2019, she travelled extensively during sabbatical leave to look at addressing the Social Determinants of Health for families in our local region. Dr McAdam was the inaugural President of the Monash Children’s Hospital School Council after being involved in the reference group that established the school at Monash Health.

Dr Ciara Earley, General Paediatrician Monash Children’s Hospital

Dr Ciara Earley is a general paediatrician who works in the acute paediatric setting but also in the outpatient department. Ciara obtained her medical degree from the National University of Ireland, Galway in 2001 and spent the first years of her training in Ireland before moving to Melbourne in 2004. She trained in many hospitals including Monash Medical Centre, The Royal Children’s Hospital and The Royal Hobart Hospital. She obtained her Fellowship from the RACP in 2012. She has previously worked as a consultant in the Paediatric Forensic Medicine Department at The Royal Children’s Hospital and Monash Children’s. She also works in private practice in Brighton.

Ciara is interested in managing children with complex and chronic medical conditions. She also has an interest in immunization and works in the BCG clinic at Monash Medical Centre. She is completing further study in Bioethics and is a member of the Clinical Ethics Response group at Monash Children’s hospital.

Dr Katrina Harris, General Paediatrician, Developmental Paediatrician, Head of Developmental Paediatrics, Monash Children’s Hospital and Medical Lead for Monash Children’s@Home

Dr Katrina Harris is a general and developmental paediatrician who enjoys the challenges of working with children with complex needs.

Dr Harris has more than 20 years’ experience as a paediatrician.

After training in Melbourne and Darwin she worked in North Queensland, with a particular interest in Indigenous health, developmental issues and the training of future doctors.

Dr Harris is Head of Developmental Paediatrics at Monash Children’s, and Medical Lead for Monash Children’s@Home.

Dr Sarah Jame, General Paediatrician

Dr Sarah Jame is a general paediatrician who trained in paediatrics at Monash Medical Centre, The Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne, and Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, London.

She works as part of the General Paediatric Team at Monash Children’s Hospital. She is the Medical Lead for Monash Children’s at Home which encompasses HITH, PAC and the Complex Kids Program. She is passionate about helping children and their families be at home whilst meeting their medical and care needs.

Dr Jame has an interest in acute care and teaching, she teaches Advanced Paediatric Life Support Courses across Australia. These courses aim to optimise the emergency resuscitation and treatment of seriously ill or injured children by health care professionals. She also participates in the examination of paediatric trainees and medical students.

Dr Martin Tuszynski, Consultant Paediatrician

Dr Martin Tuszynski is a paediatrician working in general paediatrics, having previously also worked extensively in paediatric emergency at Monash Children’s Hospital, Clayton.

Dr Tuszynski has wide ranging expertise in all areas of acute paediatric medicine as well as growth, behaviour, learning, mental health and neurodevelopmental issues. He is also the one of the lead clinicians for the general paediatric clinics at the Clayton campus.

Martin is happy to be contacted by health care providers within and outside the hospital with issues about the referral of children to our clinics and advice about any pre-referral intervention and work-up.

Dr Kypros Kyprianou, General Paediatrician 

Kypros has an interest in all aspects of paediatric health care from neonatal care, preschool and school-age issues, through to adolescent issues. His interests are broad: unsettled infants, diet and allergy, growth and development, respiratory, behavioural issues and mental health.

At Monash Children’s Hospital, Kypros is dedicated to providing a diverse range of services and expertise. These include General Paediatric clinics at Casey and Clayton, Emergency Follow-Up clinics, and sub-specialty clinics such as Rheumatology, Developmental Medicine and the ‘Healthy Koori Kids’ clinic in Dandenong. With a Diploma in Medical Education, Kypros is also an enthusiastic teacher of medical students and junior medical staff.

Kypros graduated from Monash University in 2002 and has worked in paediatrics since 2004. Whilst the bulk of his training has been through the conjoint Monash Children’s Hospital / Royal Children’s Hospital program, he has worked in a variety of hospitals and clinics across metropolitan Melbourne, rural Queensland and Ireland.

In addition to his staff position with Monash Children’s Hospital he holds positions with the University of Melbourne, Monash University, Royal Children’s Hospital and Eastern Health.

Dr Julia Phillips, General Paediatrician

At Monash Children’s Hospital in Clayton, Julia can be found working in the General Paediatric Clinics as well as the Paediatric Rapid Review Clinic. She likes to challenge herself with shifts in the Paediatric Emergency Department at Monash Medical Centre.

Julia completed her medical training in 2002 from the University of Edinburgh. She then worked in and around Glasgow, Scotland, before making a permanent move to Melbourne in 2007. Julia completed her paediatric training here at Monash Children’s Hospital, as well as the Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne and in West Gippsland.

Julia enjoys helping patients and their families with a broad spectrum of issues; from general medical conditions to growth, development and behaviour, as well as providing care to acutely unwell children. She manages children from a few days old to those finishing secondary school. Whilst also working privately at Monash Children’s Private Clinic in Clayton, Julia is committed to offering excellence in care to all her patients. Julia also takes up opportunities to teach and mentor medical students and junior doctors. She is a medical student examiner and intermittent lecturer at Monash University.​

Dr Eli Shmerling, General Paediatrician

Dr Eli Shmerling is a General Paediatrician who underwent his medical training at Monash University, before completing specialist General Paediatric training at the Royal Children’s Hospital and Monash Children’s Hospital. His training included experience working with complex children and young people in an Aboriginal health service and homeless youth service. To complement his clinical interests, he spent extended periods working in Adolescent Medicine and in the Centre for Community Child Health, before completing training as the Chief Resident Medical Officer at Monash Children’s Hospital.

Eli believes that the opportunity to care for young patients, while providing support and reassurance to their families, is a daily privilege. His approach is to work collaboratively with families and alongside allied health professionals to ensure a holistic approach that is child and family-centred. Eli will do everything he can to work with you and your child to get the best outcome for all.

Eli is working with the General Paediatric team and Chronic Fatigue Service in addition to working privately in Clayton and Camberwell. He also has a passion for education and has a teaching position at Monash University.

Dr Monika Tasani, General Paediatrician

Dr Tasani is a general paediatrician with a special interest in Paediatric Dermatology. She graduated with MBBS and Bachelor of Medical Science from the University of Melbourne (Australia) and obtained her FRACP in General Paediatrics.

Dr Tasani completed her paediatric training through the Royal Children’s Hospital, Monash Children’s Hospital and The Royal Darwin hospital in the Northern Territory. After completing her paediatric training, Dr Tasani went on to complete a fellowship in Paediatric Dermatology at the Great Ormond Street Hospital in London (UK), further developing her interest in this area.

She has a keen interest in medical education and is involved in teaching undergraduate medical students and postgraduate paediatric trainees.

Dr Saniya Kazi, General Paediatrician

Dr Saniya Kazi is a General Paediatrician who cares for children from birth to 18 years. She provides outpatient services at Monash Children’s Hospital, Refugee Health and Healthy Koori Kids clinic.

Saniya trained at Royal Children’s and Monash Children’s Hospitals and has worked in Far North Queensland and regional Victoria, obtaining her Fellowship in General Paediatrics in 2017. She has also completed a postgraduate Master of Public Health and led pneumonia research for the World Health Organization.

Saniya takes a holistic approach to health and aims to provide evidence based care that is individualized to each child’s unique context. She enjoys getting to know patients and their families, and working together with schools and multi-disciplinary teams to optimise a child’s health and well-being.

Dr John Doan, General Paediatrician

Dr John Doan is a General Paediatrician. John completed his medical degree at The University of Melbourne. The majority of his paediatric training was undertaken at Monash Children’s Hospital and The Royal Children’s Hospital. John served as the Chief Resident Medical Officer at Monash Children’s Hospital in his final Fellowship year, a role that nurtured his passions for collaborative healthcare and mentoring and supporting junior doctors.

John is a keen clinical educator. He holds a Lecturer position with the Department of Paediatrics, Monash University and is regularly involved in teaching and assessment of medical students.

John takes great pride in providing holistic care to children and their families. He enjoys combining acute inpatient care with his outpatient clinic commitments at Monash Children’s Hospital. John also consults privately at Monash Children’s Private Clinic (Clayton) and Cabrini Malvern.

Dr Jolie Lawrence, General Paediatrician

Dr Jolie Lawrence general paediatrician caring for infants, children and adolescents. After graduating from the University of Melbourne in 2013, Jolie completed paediatric training through the The Royal Children’s and Monash Children’s Hospitals, obtaining her Fellowship with the Royal Australasian College of Physicians in 2021. She has broad experience in inpatient and outpatient medicine in the fields of paediatric and neonatal intensive care; complex care coordination; and cardiac, respiratory, renal and emergency medicine.

Jolie practices evidence-based medicine and contributes to medical research, with several published papers in the fields of general paediatrics and infectious diseases. She is also actively involved in medical education, teaching and mentoring medical students and trainee paediatricians. Aside from her appointment as a paediatrician at Monash Children’s, Jolie has a private paediatric practice at Empower Paediatrics in Malvern.

Jolie prioritises family-centred care. Each child is given a management plan that is goal-oriented yet feasible. She aims for families to leave a consultation feeling calm and confident, with a clear plan in hand.

Dr Nicole Wong, Consultant Paediatrician

Dr. Nicole Wong is a general paediatrician. She completed her training in paediatrics at Monash Children’s Hospital, The Royal Children’s Hospital and the Royal Darwin Hospital.

Nicole is currently studying in the United States with the Fulbright Program, looking to better understand how health systems can be improved to optimise child health and development.

When at Monash, she enjoys supporting the inpatient team looking after children admitted on the wards, alongside filling in for various clinics (general paediatrics, rapid review, developmental assessment and hearing loss). Nicole is passionate about medical education, and currently teaches medical students at Monash University.

Dr Christine Kwa, Consultant Paediatrician

Dr Christine Kwa is a General Paediatrician who completed her paediatric training through Monash Children’s Hospital, The Royal Children’s Hospital, and multiple other metropolitan and regional sites across Victoria. As part of her training, she has gained additional skills in neonatology, developmental assessments, and coordinating care for complex children. At Monash Children’s Hospital, Christine can be found covering both acute inpatient work and outpatient clinics.

Dr Victoria McKay, General Paediatrician

Victoria is a General Paediatrician at the Monash Children’s Health and Wellbeing Local, where she sees with children with behaviour and mental health concerns, and develops programs to support local primary care clinicians. She prioritises holistic, multidisciplinary care for children and has a strong interest in health services improvements and innovations.

Victoria helps coordinate a medical education program for paediatricians and fellows, and is the principal clinician in a private paediatric practice in Elsternwick.

Dr Karina Chaves, Developmental Paediatrician

Dr Karina Chaves is a developmental paediatrician. She works with children and families who have concerns about their child’s development, behaviour or mental health.

She works within a team at the Southern Metropolitan Melbourne Child and Family Health and Wellbeing Local. This is based at Monash Health Cranbourne Integrated Care Centre. She graduated from Monash University in 2002 and has worked in paediatrics since 2003. She completed her paediatric training at the Royal Children’s Hospital and Monash Children’s Hospital.

Karina worked in Albury Wodonga for ten years prior to relocating to Melbourne in 2023. She has a strong interest in integrated health service design, indigenous health and child development and mental health. She holds a certificate in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry from Mindful, Melbourne and has experience in clinical supervision for paediatricians. She is a former board member of the Australian Society for Developmental Paediatrics. She was a member of the Australian Evidence-Based Clinical Guideline for ADHD and has published research on the effects of family violence in pregnancy.