Internship Guide 2020 - Updated

“Be over prepared but calm, know that life does not always go according to
plan but regardless, look after yourself and your future peers and always do
what is best for the patient”
These are the words I would tell myself if I could go back a year into the shoes you are filling now; reading this
internship guide preparing for what seems like the single most important choice you will make in your life.
Internship can be intimidating; you’re faced with making decisions for patients, tasked with jobs that can be
crucial for their care and vital for them to go home quicker, you will be expected at times to find the answer or
solution whilst prioritising a dozen other tasks that need to be done. You may be called to chart paracetamol, or
to confirm the extinction of life at 0500 near the end of your first night shift when you’re run off your feet. That
is why it is important to think about the right network for you to be a doctor, but also have systems in place to
enable you to thrive wherever you go. Use this guide to the fullest! AMSA does a great service to graduating
medical students in collecting up to date data from each of the health services across Australia.
At the end of the day, your priorities are your own and it should take the most weight, if not all, in your decision.
I will share below some of the considerations and systems I put in place that helped me.
Stacking - It’s hard to talk about a NSW graduate perspective without mentioning ‘stacking’. No matter what
‘stack’ you end up choosing, know that the same two stacks can give completely different hospitals. I will not
prescribe anything in regards to stacking but please know that you may not be able to beat the system.
Career - Coupled with researching, also take some time into understanding the available terms, research
opportunities or attachment to research centres, and professional pathways in different networks. This is
especially paramount if you have a desired specialty or career path in mind. Take faith though that even if you
miss out on your first preference, know that there are many ways to try and work towards or apply for that
same hospital in the future if your heart is completely set on it. Many NSW networks have unique secondments
to rural and regional hospitals that have access to different specialties and specialists that can be beneficial
for your career.
COVID-19 - I will briefly touch on COVID-19; what a time to be a healthcare worker. Like many JMOs in NSW I
started my internship during a pandemic on top of a busy Relief term; a very atypical start to being a doctor.
Many hospitals would have undergone infrastructure changes reflecting the pandemic, with ongoing policy
changes and upholding social distancing measures inside and outside the hospital setting. Above all, as JMOs
we have had continued support and supervision. We were able to voice our concerns, be included in discussions
and take part in continued training. Across the networks, junior doctors felt supported in such uncertain times.
It is hard to say how these changes would, if at all, affect your internship in 2021.
Support and lifestyle - Internship can be tough. There will be long days that can exhaust you both physically and
mentally. What are the support systems needed to get you through those days? What are your responsibilities
in life outside the hospital? You will have different priorities in life to everyone else - like a partner, your own
family, a pet, a coffee shop that you’re emotionally attached to because of their Kenyan beans, or a PHD that
you’ve seen through for the last X years of your life at that hospital. Perhaps you’ve bought/ built a dream house
with your partner or friends and want to work without the commute, that’s great. Congratulations on such a
milestone! Maybe you’ve lived out of home for all of medical school and want to work in a hospital that is near
your family to be with them again, that’s completely valid too. Only you can define the support networks that
you will need to help you thrive during internship.
No matter what choice you make - take a deep breath and tell yourself: “A year from now, I will know why I
started today”. Congratulate yourself on reaching this point in your medical journey. Look back and be proud
of all the achievements you’ve accomplished thus far in medical school - no matter how big or small they may
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