New intake of junior doctors boosts Northern NSW hospitals

NORTHERN NSW hospitals have welcomed 39 junior doctors, boosting medical teams at Lismore Base Hospital and Tweed Valley Hospital.

The medical interns have begun work after completing orientation and are already providing care to local patients across the two sites.

Lismore Base Hospital intern Hugh Pratt said the hospital’s reputation for training had lived up to expectations.

“Lismore Base Hospital has a great reputation in the medical space for its teaching capacity and so far, it stands up,” he said.

“The introduction and orientation we’ve had and the experience on the ward so far in terms of how the registrars and bosses interact with us and answer our questions, has been second to none.”

Interns are medical graduates completing a compulsory supervised year of practice required to gain full medical registration.

During the year, they rotate through a range of specialties including medicine, surgery and emergency medicine, while working under senior clinicians.

The junior doctors are employed through a statewide training program that allows rotations across metropolitan, regional and rural hospitals to broaden clinical experience.

Health authorities say the intake provides welcome support for hospital staff while helping to build the future medical workforce in Northern NSW.