Junior doctor Clay Rowe has travelled all around Australia for previous work but decided Bundaberg was where he wanted to base himself for his next career move.
Clay is one of 27 doctors embarking on the first steps of their medical careers with Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service, participating in a week-long orientation program to familiarise themselves with the Bundaberg Hospital, its services, clinical practice and procedures.
Clay said he made the move to Bundaberg with his family a few years ago after realising he could continue his study and work in the region.
“I have travelled and worked all around Australia but Bundaberg has been one of the places we always loved to come and holiday to,” he said.
“We spent a year in Brisbane, having to do that at the beginning of the degree, and then the opportunity presented to come to Bundy for a four-week placement.
“We couldn't wait to move here.”
Two years on and Clay said he was now ready to start in the general surgical ward next week.
“It will be quite interesting; it is quite busy I hear, so it will be a good place to hit the ground running,” he said.
“I'm really excited, it has been a number of years we have been stuck behind textbooks.
“Now we will get to interact with patients on a daily basis and hopefully make quite a bit of a difference.”
Bundaberg junior doctors start their career
After completing orientation, Clay and the rest of the doctors will begin rotations through a variety of units that may include general medicine, surgery, emergency medicine and elective terms in other specialised areas.
Wide Bay Hospital and Health Board chair Peta Jamieson welcomed the new interns to the team and wished them well as they took the first steps in their medical careers.
“Having 27 first year doctors join the WBHHS team is greatly encouraging as it builds our workforce and is an investment into the future of our hospitals and services,” Ms Jamieson said.
“Our junior doctors will benefit immensely from our goal to increase the amount of training in medical and allied health disciplines locally, which is outlined in our strategic plan, Care Comes First … Through Patients’ Eyes.
“On behalf of the board, I wish them all the best as they embark on this exciting step and start their first year as a medical profession.”
Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service acting chief executive Debbie Carroll said the WBHHS clinical team was looking forward to the first-year doctors joining them.
“It’s fantastic to have a number of first-year doctors join the team and gain experience at our hospitals as we hope many of them will have a passion to practice long term in the region which is our goal,” Ms Carroll said.
WBHHS acting executive director of medical services Dr Simrat Sachdev said having a strong cohort of first year doctors was also important to the long-term future of the WBHHS medical workforce.
“Our team is excited to work alongside this group of first years so they can sow their knowledge into them and build them into the next generation of clinical leaders both locally and beyond,” Dr Sachdev said.
“A healthy junior doctor program is linked to successful long-term recruitment for regional health services as the more time a student or junior doctor spends in a regional area, the more likely they are to choose a career path that keeps them in the area or sees them later on return as a specialist.
“Our medical team is looking forward to working alongside these first years and passing on our our knowledge and expertise to them.”
Bundaberg Region a great place to live and work
Bundaberg Mayor Jack Dempsey attended the official welcome at today's Orientation Week event and said it was great to see so many new doctors kicking off their career in the region.
“I would like to give all of our new doctors a big, warm welcome to the beautiful Bundaberg Region,” Mayor Dempsey said.
“We are so thankful to have such a great bunch of medical interns ready to use this region as not only a learning base, but also a region to call home.
“Not only will this bolster the Bundaberg Region's medical workforce, but more skilled doctors in the area means we are one step close to our goals of increased medical services in the region and this is a fantastic building block to forge a positive future.”
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