MUMUS medical careers: Eastern Health

w w w . m u m u s . o r g

Internship at Eastern Health

Dr Vanessa Wong, Eastern Health intern

About the network

Sites

Victoria’s second largest health service (behind Monash Health), with a diverse range of hospitals. Hospitals with intern placements ares:

• Box Hill Hospital

• Maroondah Hospital

• Angliss Hospital

• Peter James Centre

• Epworth Eastern (private secondment)

• Bairnsdale Regional Health (rural secondment)

Process

• 67 rotation blocks

• Preference 1-67

• 66 out of 67 people got their top 5 preferences, the 67th got in their top 20

• Broad internship experience (I will be working in 4 different hospitals this year)

Rotations

• Core rotations

• General medicine

• General surgery (bariatric, colorectal, breast & endocrine)

• Emergency

• + 2 of

• Another core rotation

• Renal medicine

• Urology

• Psychiatry

• Aged care/rehabilitation

• Nights/cover

Internship rotations

Pros and cons

Teaching

Weekly paid teaching (for medical rotation):

• Medical grand rounds

• Medical unit meeting

• Intern teaching

Teaching available:

• Case presentations

• “What’s the evidence” (journal club)

• Booking simulation lab

Mentoring/support

• Every intern is offered a mentorship program where they are matched with a consultant

• The Director of Postgraduate Medical Education (Dr Jenny Brookes) and the Supervisor of Junior Doctor Training (Dr Jane Lukins) are very supportive, and you will meet them one-on-one

• Doctors are generally friendly

Experience a private hospital

10 in 67

• Medical and surgical rotations offered at Epworth Eastern

• Different range of demographics and conditions

• More exposure to various specialists who round daily

Nights/rural distribution

Avoid nights (52)

25 27 15

Avoid rural (42)

Avoid both

Cerner Powerchart

• Patient pathology, radiology, medications, previous discharge paperwork in the same window

• Enough computers on the ward

• Accessible on your own device

• Automatic discharge summaries and medication lists!

My time is valued

• Culture where you feel safe handing over your patients at change of shift

• Consultants support you to get overtime when required due to workload

• Overtime provided for updating handover, online training

Committee opportunities

• RMO Society

• This year 7/8 of committee positions held by interns

• Run (excellent!) social functions, furnishes common room etc.

• Junior Medical Staff Advisory Committee

• Workplace issues affecting JMS

• PMCV

• Accreditation surveyors, JMO forum etc.

Employee perks

• Guaranteed car parking for doctors for a nominal fee

• Accommodation (utilities, wifi) for rural placement available for a nominal fee

• Salary packaging, discounted purchases

Potential concerns

• “Eastern doesn’t have my training program”

• HMO2 paediatric program includes secondment to RCH

• No neurosurgery or cardiothoracics is performed, but the general medical team I have been on has had 3 patients referred to a neurosurgeon (who visits on site, and is happy to discuss the case with), and patients who have had cardiothoracic surgery

• “I’m worried about my future prospects if I didn’t train at a major city hospital”

• Our Dean, Prof Mitchell, did her advanced physician training at Eastern Health

Application process

z score

• 70% of selection process

• No set minimum z score

• Traditionally third hand word of mouth data for lowest score is mid-2s

• For z score estimations please visit http://kevinshi.cf/internz/ (raw data on Github)

Clinical references

• 18% of selection process

• These are the two references you upload to PMCV (i.e. the same for all hospitals you apply to)

• No additional requirements (2 consultants you’ve interacted with in a clinical environment in the past 2 years)

• Comments are important, not just the numerical score

Non-clinical reference

• 4% of selection process

• Unique to Eastern Health

• Can be from anyone (Prof at university, someone you worked on a committee with, your part-time work supervisor)

• Workplace based attributes

• Basically a standard reference letter an employer would ask for in most jobs

Cover letter

• 4% of cover letter

• Standard employment cover letter

• Address to Director of Medical Workforce Unit (name in PMCV guide)

• Why you want to work here, qualities you have, your clinical interests etc.

Curriculum vitae

• 4% of selection process

• Upload to PMCV (same as for all hospitals)

• You’ll hear LOADS about this if you haven’t already

What you don’t have to do

• “Answer in 500 characters or less” on an online form

• Everything you want to be known about yourself should be on your cover letter, references and CV

• Interviews

• Eastern Health get about 900 applicants for 67 positions – not practical to interview

• Have previously had placement here

• 12 out of 67 interns were Monash students (last year, over 40 were)

For more information

• Visit Eastern Health official Medical Careers Afternoon

• Friday 28th April 1-3pm

Good luck!

w w w . m u m u s . o r g

Dr Vanessa Wong

E a s t e r n H e a l t h

v a n e s s a . w o n g @ e a s t e r n h e a l t h . o r g . a u

@ f i r s t d o n o w o n g