New generation of doctors making a home in Orange
Orange hospital has welcomed a new cohort of 19 medical interns who will spend the next two years developing their skill in what has become a sought-after training program.
“We had over 100 applications for these few positions,” said Dr Sim Vahra, Director of Medical Services at Orange Hospital.
“And it was a very competitive process, so all of that means that Orange is now a popular place to live and work and a lot of that is due to the fact that they can get the learning they need at the hospital here.
From day one, the new interns are part of the team, said Dr Vahra. They are expected to round on patients, examine patients and also expected to attend teaching sessions.
“It is a very busy and structured year, but we also give them plenty of opportunities to get involved with various committees in the hospital depending on what their interests are,” said Dr Vahra.
“So they will go through a structured program this year with compulsory rotations in emergency, surgery and medicine with a couple of other rotations.”
With more and more young doctors looking to live and learn in Orange, Dr Vahra said they are also finding that many of them choose to return and make their home here.
“We are finding a pattern consistently of people who've spent time as medical students here then coming back and being interns here,” he said, “and that's obviously a good sign for our future pipeline of having GPs and specialists.”
For Stephanie Pollard, the choice to come to Orange was based on the reputation of the hospital’s training program and the desire to serve in a rural area.
“I have an Indigenous background, so I've always been interested in smaller communities because that's where there is a bigger gap in Indigenous health,” said Stephanie, who is originally from Queanbeyan.
“In my third year of medical school I was lucky enough to come to Orange and do a week of paediatrics and I found it an amazing hospital; people were happy to teach and people were happy to see you in the hallways and I think that is a big difference between a small hospital and the big hospitals so I really wanted to come back.
“Orange has an amazing reputation for supporting their junior doctors and so I thought to be the most successful junior doctor that I can be, I wanted to put myself in a great town with a great hospital and I think Orange really fills that spots.”
A former competitive athlete, Stephanie says it was sport that first drew her to study medicine
“I was a sprinter and a hurdler, and I did that to quite a high level. You get injured in sport and have to go to doctors and what not and I found it really interesting. In high school I fell in love with science and I thought the human body was really interesting and I really enjoy maths and the logic of it, but I never thought I'd actually get into medicine!
“I think sport has helped me in being quite determined and structured and I think that helps in medicine as well.”