Ten interns for bush, five in Albany

The WA Country Health Service has announced the creation of 10 rurally based medical intern placements in 2017, five of which will be at the Albany Health Campus.

The program will ensure there will always be six interns in the AHC and a WACHS spokeswoman said the announcement was moving into unchartered territory.

“This is the first time that interns have been able to spend a whole year in Albany,” she said.

“For many years WACHS has received numerous requests from interns wishing to spend their whole year in Albany and we know that there is great interest in these placements.”

The spokeswoman said the new placements opened up more rural options for students.

“This exciting development provides an opportunity for medical graduates to choose a rural pathway from their first year of hospital training,” she said.

“In doing so, it will help build the State’s future rural workforce and address a previously unmet gap in the continuity of rural training.

“For AHC and the Albany community it will mean that enthusiastic, dedicated young doctors will be providing even greater continuity of care and commitment to the region.”

Rural Doctors Association of Western Australia vice-president Andrew Kirke commended the decision.

“This latest development of rurally based intern allocations addresses a long-recognised hurdle in the continuity of rural medical training,” he said.

“The creation of rurally based junior doctor training opportunities means that more of WA’s medical graduates can opt for a career in rural medicine at an earlier stage.”