Young doctors Adrian Siu and James Ephraums are among more than 1,000 interns starting their medical careers with NSW Health this year – a record number of new starters and the most of any state or territory in Australia.
The duo, who both aspire to become surgeons, are two of 20 new interns at Campbelltown Hospital and among the 129 interns across South Western Sydney Local Health District [SWSLHD].
Dr Siu is currently working in colorectal surgery, while Dr Ephraums is doing his rotation in cardiology.
“I started studying to become a pharmacist, but I wanted to influence patient outcomes and decided to become a doctor,’’ Dr Siu said.
“I’ve had some amazing mentors who have inspired me along the way,’’
Dr Ephraums said he was enjoying working with patients and staff at Campbelltown Hospital.
“I am now putting my years of study into practice in a hospital setting,’’ he said.
Amanda Larkin, the chief executive of SWSLHD, said she was proud to welcome all the interns to the region’s public hospitals and wished them well for long and rewarding careers.
“It is an absolute pleasure to see these new interns officially join the ranks at South Western Sydney Local Health District,’’ Ms Larkin said.
“We owe a great deal of thanks to these junior doctors, many of whom have already worked either as assistants in medicine or student vaccinators as part of the Covid-19 workforce response,” Ms Larkin said.
“They will continue to play a vital role in our hospitals as we navigate the challenges of this unprecedented, world-wide pandemic.”
The new doctors starting their internship are entering a training program with networked hospitals throughout the state, providing formal and on-the-job training.
They receive two-year contracts to rotate between metropolitan, regional and rural hospitals to ensure the diversity of their experience.
They also join different units in each hospital, including surgery and emergency medicine.
Interns are medical graduates who have completed their medical degree and are required to complete a supervised year of practice in order to become independent practitioners.
More information on the recruitment of JMOs can be found here: https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/jmo/Pages/default.aspx
