Princess Alexandra Hospital welcomed 89 fresh-faced medical interns this month.
After a week-long orientation program, the interns are eager to get a taste for various specialties across the hospital including mental health, emergency, general medicine and surgery among others.
Physio-turned-medical intern Chris Howarth, who joins the cohort after four years of medical training in Geelong, says it was his love of sports that first drew him to medicine.
“Before my medical training, I was a physio and played a fair bit of rugby. During that time, I met a lot of emergency doctors who also did sports, and it sounded like a great mix of the two,” he said.
After a fateful physio rotation brought him to PAH, Chris says the decision to continue his medical career at the hospital was an easy one.
“PAH is the perfect Venn diagram for me. I knew from my previous physio rotations that the culture here is great, and with such a big Emergency Department, you get a lot of experience and a lot of exposure to lots of different cases, which is exciting. I’m also really close to family here, so it’s the perfect place to start my career.”
Eager to kickstart his training, Chris says he looks forward to getting to know his cohort and growing his specialist knowledge at PAH.
“I’m keen to get back into work and get more comfortable in emergency care, knowing that I’ll be confident and well-supported here.”
PAH wishes all new interns the best of luck as they embark on this exciting new chapter.