Interns ready to make their mark

BENDIGO Health has welcomed forty new junior doctors as they commenced their twelve-month internship last week.

Supervisor of intern training Dr Sanniel Mathias said the new starts will play a vital role in the hospital’s operations.

“The intern’s role is incredibly vital, and incredibly important to ensure the function of the wards and the units as well,” he said.

“They’re there all the time, they get to know their patients in a large amount of detail, so they are vital to our health service.”

New intern and Bendigo native Lucas Phelps said the town is the perfect place to further is experience.

“I think Bendigo fits in a very special little niche,” he said.

“It’s a big enough hospital that we have all the specialties and areas to learn and for us to provide for the community.

“The teams of doctors are really small, so for us, and our learning, we feel supported, and we have enough access to our consultants and our seniors.”

Fellow intern Dr Alison Huynh said working at a regional hospital has allowed her to gain experience earlier and more often.

“I think it has really helped us grow our skills early on and we feel a bit more confident coming into the workforce,” Dr Huynh said.

Dr Phelps, who will be starting his internship in the surgical ward, said he’s looking forward to the challenge of the fast-paced environment at Bendigo Health.

“We’re looking forward to using all of the skills we’ve learnt over the past five or six years of study,” he said.

For Dr Huynh, who will also be starting on the surgical ward, said her first rotation will prepare her for the rest of the year.

“Because of how fast paced it is, we’ll gather the skills much faster than we would anticipate,” she said.

Taking on interns at Bendigo Health benefits more than just the students.

Dr Mathias said health service hoped to retain two-thirds of the junior doctors at the end of their 12-month internship, something that had done over last three years.

“What we found is the more interns who have previously been medical students with us or who have had a regional focus in their training as medical students are more likely to stay on and stay with us,” he said.

“This year we’ve got a very high proportion of those types of interns, so we expect a good retention rate again.”