The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners is today congratulating Dr Neru Leavas and Dr Gaurav Sharma, two newly minted Members of Parliament who are also general practitioners and members of the College.

GP and small business owner, Dr Leavas (MP for Takanini) has been a Fellow of the College since 2011. His undergraduate medical degree is from The University of Auckland, which he completed after surviving metastatic bone cancer. He has served rural communities as a GP and is a member of the College’s Pacific chapter.

Dr Gaurav Sharma (MP for Hamilton West) is currently undertaking his last year of GP specialist training while working in Hamilton. He’s previously been involved in public health, policy and consulting in New Zealand, Spain, USA, Nepal, Vietnam, Switzerland, and Mongolia. In addition to his medical degree from The University of Auckland he has a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from The George Washington University in Washington D.C. where he was a Fulbright Scholar.

Dr Samantha Murton, President of The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners says, "we are thrilled to see our College members on the national stage and know they will bring informed, authentic, experiences from the front line of community medicine to parliament where they’ll be able to influence positive health outcomes.

"There are significant health issues that New Zealand is facing - like equity - and having MPs with lived experience from serving our communities will be invaluable.

"The College looks forward to working closely with them in their new roles," she says.

Congratulations to two of New Zealand’s newest MPs.

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