Eight junior doctors are getting a taste of what it’s like to practice in a rural area through the Grampians Medical Training Program.
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The group of doctors will be based at East Grampians Health Service in Ararat for the program,
The health service runs the program in partnership with St John of God Hospital in Ballarat and the Maryborough District Health Service.
It is also run in partnership with the Ararat Medical Centre, and Maryborough’s Nightingale Medical Centre and Clarendon Medical Centre.
The interns have all arrived in Ararat after the program starting in January.
The eight participants completed their training at universities, including Deakin University, Monash University, Melbourne University and Notre Dame University.
They are now working in their first year as doctors after finishing medical school.
The interns will work on a rotation through the operating theatre and at the Ararat Medical Centre general practice clinic while working with East Grampians Health Service.
Development and improvement and junior medical officer manager Sarah Woodburn said the program is all about general practice rotation.
She said it enabled the interns to do everything a rural doctor does, including working as a general practice obstetrician, anaesthetist and in the hospital.
“The idea is by training doctors in rural areas they are more likely to want to stay and practice in rural areas,” she said.
“It’s all about increasing our medical workforce for the future.”
East Grampians Health Service chief executive Nick Bush said the feedback the health service has been getting about the program is that it gives the interns hands-on opportunities, which they rarely get in a metro area.
The health service has been part of the intern program for three years and the number of interns has increased from five last year to eight in 2017.
All are Victorian-trained and Ararat Medical Centre has come on board with the intern program for the first time, hosting one of the rotations this year.
The health service also celebrated an early Christmas at its Patricia Hinchey Centre earlier this month.
Santa delivered each client gifts including a personalised, embroidered towel provided by Ararat’s EmbroidAbility and funded by the centre auxiliary.
Clients enjoyed musical entertainment provided by volunteers Ricky Klauss, Jas Chalmers and Leanne McCready, and afternoon tea at the Christmas party, with staff also joining in on the fun.
