Three new Interns welcomed to the Far West Local Health District
A big warm welcome to our three new junior doctors who have started their careers at the Broken Hill Health Service as interns for 2022.
The interns - Dr Pooja Harikumar Nair (Emergency Intern), Dr Thiyasha Wanniarachchi (Medical Intern) and Dr Purshaiyna Thirukumar (Surgical Intern) - will rotate through Medical, Surgical and Emergency Departments in Broken Hill Health Service and Concord Hospital throughout the year.
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. These three interns were specially recruited to Far West LHD through the Rural Preferential Recruitment Scheme, in which interns choose to undertake the majority of their training in rural hospitals, thus demonstrating an early commitment to rural and non-metropolitan regions. This innovative scheme also helps these committed interns to develop a broad range of skills and enhance the specific skill sets required in rural and remote settings.
The newly appointed Director of Prevocational Education and Training (DPET) Dr Aravind Suppiah welcomed the new junior doctors to the Far West and Broken Hill Health Service.
The DPET is responsible for the planning, delivery and evaluation of the prevocational training program at the facility and to ensure JMO wellbeing.
'We are very pleased to see such new enthusiastic and committed interns take up their positions at Broken Hill Health Service, and to be in position to support them in their rural commitment, helping them gain confidence and ability in a diverse range of clinical presentations,' said Dr Suppiah.
The new Interns are also the first intake that Dr Suppiah will supervise as the new DPET for Far West LHD. He took over the role from Dr Sarah Wenham. 'I welcome the challenges of this new role, and the training and employment of interns, to help improve access to a range of health services in rural areas.'
The Far West LHD expressed its sincere appreciation to Dr Sarah Wenham, for her outstanding dedication and commitment to the DPET over the last 4 years. Dr Wenham played a major role in building enthusiasm for rural medicine programs, in addition to her full-time practice of developing and strengthening palliative care in the Far West.