56 medical graduates starting their one year internship at Nepean Hospital this morning have received a warm welcome from Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Minister for Health Brad Hazzard as part of the record number of medical graduates starting work today.
“It’s the first day across the State for 999 new interns,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“I’m so thrilled that 56 of those new interns are starting their day today at Nepean.
“We know we have a growing population, we know the demand for health services will continue to grow, and we are planning for that by making sure we have the best qualified interns here in NSW.”
Passing on his congratulations, Minister Hazzard said the interns will be the future “backbone of our health system.”
“Nepean is one of those fantastic hospitals in western Sydney that really does deserve to have the very best interns, and that’s exactly what they’ve got,” Mr Hazzard said.
One of the interns starting today is Buffie Franklin, who was thrilled to be located at Nepean Hospital, with family based in St Clair.
She entered the internship program as a mature age student after leaving the Navy to pursue her lifelong interest in medicine.
“It was in my early thirties, after having had a whole career, that I decided to pack it all in and start again,” she told the Weekender.
“The camaraderie that has been fostered by the orientation that we had and the staff encouraging us to bond and support one another is phenomenal.”
Member for Mulgoa Tanya Davies welcomed to the new interns, saying it was a wonderful day for both the State and local area.
“This is a growing region, but what’s more exciting is the fact that the experts that are based here at Nepean Hospital are going to pass on their knowledge and their skills to this new bunch,” she said.
Minister for Western Sydney and Member for Penrith Stuart Ayres echoed the importance of investing in staff to support the growing region.
“Across NSW and particularly in western Sydney, we’re seeing an unprecedented level of investment in new health and hospital infrastructure,” he said.
“But it’s important that we back that up with fantastic new employees so that the wards and the patients that are here have always got high quality staff.”
This year, the NSW Government’s $107 million internship program has lead the country in training opportunities for medical graduates as the only state to offer two year employment contracts to graduates.
Emily Newton is the Weekender’s police and political reporter. Emily is also the Weekender’s Senior Journalist.
