The first cohort of directly employed medical interns began working at St John of God Health Care this week.
The 12 interns will be based at St John of God Midland Public Hospital and will undertake an intensive care rotation at St John of God Subiaco Hospital.
St John of God Health Care Group Chief Executive Dr Shane Kelly said the internship programme had been designed to provide outstanding teaching, training and experience for interns.
“The interns will benefit from being part of a small cohort, further supporting individualised training, education and mentorship,” he said.
“Our organisation has a long and proud history of providing training for junior doctors at our various hospitals through partnerships with tertiary public hospitals.
“As a direct employer of interns, we can expand the career pipeline for the next generation of doctors in Western Australia.”
Dr Kelly also said the health care group was planning to “expand the intern programme to include other St John of God hospitals based in WA”.
The interns will gain firsthand experience across a variety of medical specialties, including general surgery, emergency medicine, general medicine/acute aged care, paediatrics, intensive care and neurology/stroke in the next 12 months.
St John of God Midland Public Hospital Chief Executive Michael Hogan said he was excited to be the first hospital within St John of God Health Care to directly employ interns and first non-tertiary hospital in WA.
“Our internship programme forms part of the hospital’s focus on contributing to developing a highly-skilled medical workforce,” Mr Hogan said.
“Since the hospital opened in 2015, we have supported 430 resident medical officers, 445 medical registrars, and 730 medical students.
“Our four-term internship programme has been created to provide interns with dedicated learning and research opportunities and a supportive environment, including flexible work arrangements.”