International doctors complete Workplace Based Assessment program at Blacktown and Mount Druitt Hospitals

For many overseas trained doctors, their qualifications are not automatically recognised in Australia. To provide an alternative pathway for these doctors to gain full registration with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency, the Australian Medical Council accredits hospitals and health services to deliver the Workplace Based Assessment program.

Western Sydney Local Health District is one of only 31 accredited providers in Australia, delivering the program from Blacktown and Mount Druitt Hospitals. Since 2024, there have been 20 graduates complete the program.

For the doctors, the program provides a crucial bridge toward general registration. For the District, the program strengthens workforce capacity and helps to retain doctors, many of whom have worked at the facilities for several years. 

To celebrate the latest cohort, a graduation ceremony was recently held at Blacktown Hospital, with graduates, program staff and hospital executives attending.

Blacktown and Mount Druitt Hospitals Acting General Manager, Shane Widloecher commended the group for their resilience and hard work in completing the program.

“It’s a wonderful achievement and you should all be proud of your efforts.”

Dr Satish Mitter, an Emergency Physician and Toxicologist, is the Director of the Workplace Based Assessment Program for the District, helped establish the program nearly three years ago. He said it’s satisfying to see the graduating doctors progress their careers.

“It’s a really great experience to see the doctors progress through the program and then move on to the specialist programs they choose.”

Waseem Hassan is one of the nearly 40 assessors who supervise the participants in practical and on-the-job assessments. While acknowledging the considerable time and effort of his peers, he congratulated the graduates and said it was a significant moment in their careers.

“Completing the program is the launching pad for your careers and the future is up to you.”

Among this year’s graduates are doctors from Bangladesh, Egypt, Iran, Sri Lanka and Syria.

Dr Marwa Komika came to Australia from Egypt in 2015. It was her late mother’s wish for her to pursue a career in medicine.

A Senior Resident Medical Officer within the Mount Druitt Hospital emergency department, she said completing the program means she can look to the future and what’s next.

“I have more opportunities in front of me.”

Fellow graduate Dr Bilkis Aktar, who completed her medical degree in Bangladesh, works as a Senior Resident Medical Officer within the emergency departments at both Blacktown and Mount Druitt Hospitals.

She said one of the biggest challenges was juggling the demands of the program at the same time as her day-to-day role and family responsibilities.

“When I received the offer for the [Workplace Based Assessment] program my youngest child was only one-year-old,” she said.

The structure of the program helped her to complete it and gave her the confidence to take the next step in her career.

“I feel so relieved and confident. The regular assessments kept me focused and allowed me to improve throughout the year.”

As ten new graduates celebrate their achievements, the next cohort has expanded to 15, demonstrating the growth and ongoing success of the program across Western Sydney.