History has been made at PA Hospital with 100 per cent of the Registrar cohort passing the FRACP clinical exam after only eight weeks of prep time.
Chief Medical Registrar and training coordinator, Dr Faseeha Peer says the group of 12 doctors exhibited exceptional self-motivation and collaborative teamwork skills in the face of a demanding schedule and the pandemic, which impacted the entirety of their three-year training program.
“They were all motivated, they all had a goal in mind that they wanted to achieve, and they did work very hard,” Dr Peer said.
“The fact that our entire cohort passed is really unusual. While PA traditionally has very good results, this 100 per cent pass rate is something to celebrate.”
Director of the Physician Training Unit, Dr Su Mien Yeoh says Dr Peer’s mentorship and support was instrumental to the group’s success.
“She does all the work to connect with the trainees. She knows what’s happening in the hospital and creates a very supportive learning environment.”
Despite fluctuations in COVID restrictions over the course of the program, Dr Yeoh says the group was determined to fit in as much clinical experience as possible.
“The 12 Registrars are very motivated, and they really wanted to show that they can do well, despite the work challenges, and how busy their role is.
“With 12 registrars in this cohort instead of the usual 20, they had more opportunities to attempt their trial exams as well as more practice with each consultant and more exposure with patients.”
Dr Yeoh says the results also speak to the success of PAH as an institution of choice for physician training, a title PAH has held proudly for many years.
“PA has very good training resources; we hold many trial exams, we do short and long cases as well as a broad variety of cases.
“Consultants here realise how important it is to give protected learning time and education to the trainees. PAH is a tertiary hospital, and we want to maintain our reputation as a top training hospital in all of Queensland, and even in Australia,” Dr Yeoh said.
Dr Peer is optimistic that the 2023 results will also inspire future specialist trainee cohorts.
“I think it's just a good morale booster for all the trainees who are yet to do the exam, and for the next generation of aspiring doctors who are applying now.
“If we get good results, then we attract good trainees who become consultants, and become the next generation of really great consultants for the whole of Australia.”
Dr Robert Ellis (pictured with Dr Faseeha Peer, Dr Susmita Karri and Dr Frances Zhao), who is working towards a career in the Renal / General Medicine field says although he is exhausted, he was thrilled to be part of such a strong and collegiate cohort.
Congratulations to the 2023 Princess Alexandra Hospital FRACP trainees:
- Dr Robert Ellis
- Dr Frances Zhao
- Dr Samreen Iqbal
- Dr Susmita Reddy Karri
- Dr Samantha Banh
- Dr Kate Zhang
- Dr Andrea Carsley
- Dr Hannah Shaw
- Dr Andrew McLean
- Dr Robert Wu
- Dr Andy Lu
- Dr Joshua Tam