More than 1,000 medical graduate interns have this week joined the ranks of the NSW Health system – a record number of new starters and the highest number of any state or territory in Australia.
1,073 interns are joining the NSW Health team this year – an increase of 32 positions compared with the previous year.
Many have already worked in the health system – either as Assistants in Medicine or student vaccinators as part of the COVID-19 workforce response.
The NSW Nationals in the state government have invested record amounts in our health system throughout the pandemic and these new interns will play a significant role in bolstering the ranks of our health workers as we continue to deal with the challenges of COVID-19.
Nationals Minister for Regional Health Bronnie Taylor said that of the 1,073 positions, 162 belong to the Rural Preferential Recruitment scheme – an increase of 12 positions compared with the previous year.
“The innovative Rural Preferential Recruitment Scheme allows interns to undertake the majority of their training in our rural hospitals, encouraging Junior Medical Officers (JMOs) to continue working in rural and regional NSW once they complete their training,” Mrs Taylor said.
“I am so pleased that the intern class of 2022 also includes 24 JMOs recruited via the Aboriginal Medical Workforce Pathway.”
Interns are medical graduates who have completed their medical degree and are required to complete a supervised year of practice in order to become independent practitioners.
The new doctors who commenced orientation this week will be entering a training program with networked hospitals throughout the state, providing on-the-job training.
They receive two-year contracts to rotate between metropolitan, regional and rural hospitals to ensure the diversity of their experience. They also join different units in each hospital, including surgery and emergency medicine.
In the largest ever health workforce boost in the state, the NSW Nationals in the state government have invested a record $2.8 billion to recruit an additional 1,060 doctors, 5,000 nurses, 880 allied health staff and 1,360 hospital support staff over a four year period.
More information on the recruitment of JMOs can be found here: www.heti.nsw.gov.au/education-and-training/courses-and-programs/medical-graduate-recruitment
