Internship Guide 2020

To the Class of 2020,
Congratulations! You have made it through hours of sitting in lecture theatres staring at dark blue slides with
yellow text, anatomy labs, practicing clinical skills, and enjoying the special bond and baking rosters of PBL/
LEAPS/CEL groups. The phrase “I’m just a medical student” is at the tip of your tongue every time you see
someone approaching you on placement, and you have learnt the best (quickest) ways to get your forms
signed. While sometimes (maybe far too often) you have felt like a space-occupying lesion in the hospitals,
in just a few months, you will carry the title of ‘doctor’. You are on the cusp of officially entering an extremely
rewarding profession – exciting times lie ahead.
2020 has brought tumultuous times to our world and our health care systems. Unfortunately, many of your
placements have been suspended, leaving you to exchange your usual clinical experience for isolation, Zoom
tutorials, and self-directed learning. Trust that in these uncertain times that you have the support of the entire
medical community to ensure that you graduate this year and start your internships on the best possible foot.
These disruptions may well have impacted your ability to make decisions about where you would like to intern
next year, and your own feelings of preparedness to start work; rest assured that all of your peers around the
country are in a similar position.
We are fortunate in Western Australia to be able to preference which hospital network you would most like to
work for. Regardless of whichever hospital you end up working at, your internship will be well-supported, with
excellent opportunities and plenty of teaching. Choosing a hospital network can be daunting, especially if you
haven’t had the opportunity to be placed at all of them. Here are a few aspects you might like to consider:
• Proximity to home, parking and transport: This is the one piece of advice I heard most frequently this time
last year. Choose a hospital that is close to home and easy to get to – it’ll be worth it after long shifts and
help maximise your sleep.
• Specialties & rural rotations: Consider your interests and what you’d like to explore – some specialties
are only available at certain hospitals and each network has its own rural and peripheral hospitals. Some
hospitals offer “streamed” internships (e.g. medical, surgical, rural, emergency and mixed streams) to allow
interns to explore their interests; take a look at each hospital’s rotation matrix to see what might suit you
best.
• Your friends: While you shouldn’t let “peer pressure” influence you, it certainly brightens your day to see
familiar faces around and is always helpful to have supportive friends around to debrief and talk.
• The hospitals themselves: Given the vast number of hours you’ll be spending at work, the hospital’s
environment is very important to consider. Think about things like electronic versus paper notes, coffee
shops and workplace culture.
Finally, don’t hesitate to chat to us interns – we were in your position not too long ago. While we may be biased
towards (or hopefully not against) the hospital we work for, we are more than happy to answer any questions
you may have or share our experiences. Though the whole application and decision-making process may seem
overwhelming, remember that no matter where you end up, your internship will be an incredible experience. It’ll
be a wild ride with plenty of highs and lows, laughs, tears shed, friendly and not-so-friendly patients, pizza and
pastries in the Doctors’ Common Room, missed cannulas and hundreds of discharge summaries; shared with
some of the best people you’ll ever meet.
Best wishes for your final year, and good luck with your applications! Looking
forward to working with you very soon.
Dr Marissa Loh
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