Doctors
Copacabana Medical has two doctors working at the practice: Dr Risto Cvetkovic and Dr Diana Peneva-Arabadjiyska.
Dr Risto Cvetkovic
FRACGP, MD (USA), Spec. Ophthalmologist (Serbia)
Practice Principal
After graduating medicine from the University of Belgrade in 1991, Risto moved to Frankfurt, Germany working at the 97th US Army General Hospital. As part of his specialty training in ophthalmology, Risto relocated to the U.S.A. and completed a year of general surgery at the Medical College of Virginia, a one-year International Fellowship in Ophthalmology at the Manhattan Eye, Ear & Throat Hospital, NYC, and a Fellowship in Oculoplastic Surgery also in NYC. After completing his postgraduate training as a specialist ophthalmologist in Serbia, Risto sought greener pastures and came to Australia via New Zealand. He re-trained as a GP and became a Fellow of Royal Australian College of GPs in 2022.
Risto is interested in most areas of general practice, especially skin surgery, chronic disease management, pain management, addiction medicine, transgender health, mental health, aged care and palliative care. Outside of work he enjoys spending time with his son and wife but above everything else, his true passion is tennis.
Languages spoken
English, Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian, Hungarian
Schedule
Dr Risto works Monday and Thursday and Friday afternoons, and performs surgical procedures on Wednesdays. He visits patients in residential aged care facilities on Tuesdays.
Dr Diana Peneva-Arabadjiyska
MBBS, FRACGP
General Practitioner
Diana graduated medicine at the Higher Medical Institute of Stara Zagora, Bulgaria, in 1989. She relocated to South Africa before moving to New Zealand then Australia in 2008. Diana became a Fellow of the Royal Australian College of GPs in 2014. Dr Diana worked in rural Victoria before joining the team at Copacabana Medical Centre in 2021. She thoroughly enjoys working at Copacabana and loves the beach lifestyle.
Diana is passionate about eating healthy and fitness workouts, and can also swing a tennis racquet.
Schedule
Dr Diana works all day Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Monday, Thursday and Friday mornings.
Nurse
Priscila Martins
REGISTERED NURSE
Priscila graduated from the University of Newcastle in 2019, where she completed a Bachelor of Nursing degree.
She is registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) she has attained post graduate qualifications and is a certified immunizer through the Australian College of Nursing.
Priscila moved to Australia from Brazil in 2004.. Prior to nursing, she worked in hairdressing where she developed a love of working with people.
Priscila believes that patient-centred care is very important to support people to achieve their health goals. She enjoys being part of a team and working with other health professionals to provide a holistic approach to health care.
Priscila loves Latin dancing, reading and spending time on Copacabana beach with her partner, family and friends.
Priscila works Monday to Thursday.
Allied Health Services
We are pleased to be able to work with several allied health professionals who run their own businesses from the practice and pride themselves on delivering high quality care.
Wolfgang Messthaler – ChiroPraxis
Chiropractor
Wolfgang himself suffered back pain as a young man and found that a chiropractor could help and hence he began his career as a chiropractor commencing studies at Otago University in Dunedin, New Zealand. After achieving a Bachelor of Science, he enrolled at Macquarie University in Sydney to achieve a Master of Chiropractic. While there, he studied a variety of health-related topics and discovered that most headaches are referred pain patterns that are muscular in origin around the head. Headaches are one of the many conditions he’s helped patients find relief from at Copacabana Medical Centre.
Outside of helping patients, Wolf loves outdoor activities such as camping, rock climbing, mountain biking, surf life saving and is a keen photographer and architecture enthusiast.