To the Class of <strong>2020</strong>, 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. <strong>2020</strong> 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 126
In 2018 over 700 doctors in training from across WA hospitals have answered the annual WA Hospital Health Check Survey conducted by the AMA (WA) Doctors in Training Committee, which asked questions on education, wellbeing, morale and industrial issues. The questions were scored and graded as such: Grading: A>80, B70-79, C60-69, D50-59, F