Learn more about the careers and opportunities available for HMOs at Northern Health by reading our staff stories.
Dr Chee Seng Chow
My name is Dr Chee Seng CHOW (Resident – Northern/Austin Health). This is my second year with The Northern Hospital, and throughout my employment with Northern/Austin Health, I have completed various rotations at the Northern.
My time at the Northern has been nothing short of awesome. The Northern Hospital is a great place to work at. There is a good balance between workload and support to allow one to learn under some pressure but not feel left out in the open. Everyone is very approachable and down to earth, even the consultants, which is always very important, especially in the first few months of fitting into the role of being a new doctor.
Strong teaching ethics is another plus, which I have experienced tremendously, especially during my time with both the Orthopaedics and Radiology Department. The Consultants and Registrars were always keen on passing me knowledge and tips and would always try their best to get me involved. Another point of teaching that is definitely worth noting is the weekly pager holding tutorials. The topics are carefully selected and almost always turn out to be extremely useful tutorials.
There is always more about Northern Health that I can speak of, but to be honest, if you are still wondering where to go for your internship, I encourage you to definitely consider Northern Health and find out for yourself!
Dr Chee Seng CHOW
Resident Northern/Austin Health
Dr Naumka Dimoska
General comments about Northern Health
The Northern Hospital services a culturally diverse population. Working at Northern Health promotes cultural awareness and having an understanding of how these cultural differences impact health care, allows doctors at Northern Health to practice medicine holistically.
Working at The Northern Hospital is challenging, but also very rewarding. Working with limited resources at times allows junior doctors to really develop their clinical skills and to form clinically sound management plans.
Northern Health is growing rapidly, and with the upcoming development of the new Academic and Research Precinct, there will be an even stronger focus and commitment to medical education and research.
My personal experience with Northern Health
I completed my internship at Northern/Austin Health and despite the many challenges that are faced by an intern transitioning from student life, I thoroughly enjoyed my year. I found all staff members (medical and allied) to be extremely friendly and approachable. I can honestly say that I never felt too scared to ask for help. This is what ultimately led me to choose Northern Health again this year to complete my Diploma in Obstetrics & Paediatrics.
Dr Naumka Dimoska
O&G Resident
Dr Nelu Jayawardena
Life at The Northern Hospital
I started my life at The Northern Hospital as a student back in 2007. Fresh from uni, being thrust in to the hospital system was daunting and a huge step from fortnightly hospital visits. Suddenly we found ourselves going on ward rounds, putting in IV’s and interviewing real patients with real problems. And although at first the drive to Epping was a long one, after just a few weeks it was overshadowed by the comfort in knowing that once we arrived, there was a dedicated team of staff, senior and junior doctors and a wide range of patients who would make our learning experience a valuable and enjoyable one. It was after two and half years of growing as a student at both the Northern and Austin hospitals that I knew that was I wanted to begin my career as a doctor. I anticipated that intern year was going to be a difficult one, thus I preferred to be somewhere that was familiar and friendly to ease the transition from being a student to becoming a real doctor.
I was lucky enough to obtain a position as one of 92 interns at the Northern and Austin Hospitals. The Northern Hospital, being one of the smaller regional hospitals, has what I consider the best of both worlds; it is large enough to have ample facilities, services and a wide range of medical specialities, however it is small enough to have that ‘country’ feel where the corridors are full of familiar faces and one doesn’t get lost in the crowd. Being a two floor hospital with a handful of wards means that almost everyone who walks past is a familiar face, the nursing staff get to know you, the administrative team and medical education unit knows you by name and members of the allied health teams come to the monthly drinks! It is a very heart warming feeling as a junior doctor to feel that you are a part of team. The step from being a student to being an intern is big enough as it is, being in such a friendly place helps to soften the blow!
Apart from the sense of unity that comes with being a small but well established hospital, the education offered at the Northern Hospital and its Medical Education Unit is one of a kind. The MEU makes sure that ‘protected intern training time’ is actually protected, and for that one hour a week each intern who attends is guaranteed to escape the dreaded pager! The teaching offered at these sessions is both useful and relevant, and the free lunch and chance to socialise are additional perks. To add to the education which is planned for junior doctors, the patient cohort itself provides a great deal of learning. With a huge patient turnover from a variety of ethnic groups and social backgrounds, there is always something interesting to learn about; and this is the best way for junior doctors to excel. Apart from the education, the support from seniors, and the friendly staff at the Northern Hospital, I can say without a doubt that above all I had a lot of fun! Which is why when the opportunity came up for a 6 month paediatric job, I couldn’t say turn it down.
Being a second year doctor there is often the idea that we now have one year of training under our belts which should bring with it a wealth of knowledge. But when starting paediatrics, suddenly the year of experience doesn’t count for much - it is a whole new world. And I can’t think of a better place to enter this world than at the Northern Hospital. It is a small unit of general paediatrics and special care nursery. There is a dedicated team of consultants, a registrar around at all times of the day with equally motivated residents, and not to mention the helpful nursing and allied health staff. Being a small unit, all of the staff from the director of the unit to the PSA’s know your face and your name. The day always starts with smiles and stories and ward rounds consist of coffee and jokes. When it comes to work, the children and their families are our focus and every single member of the team does their utmost to make sure the hospital experience is a positive one for every child and family that comes through our doors. There is an enormous amount of teaching with multiple weekly tutes, daily teaching with on ward rounds and with the registrars and not to mention the unplanned learning that takes place in the emergency department or in clinics. We are lucky as residents and registrars in a small but established unit, we are given the opportunity and the autonomy to see patients alone, to formulate ideas and to run anything of doubt by someone senior. No question is too silly, no comment to daft and nothing surprises anyone; there is no such thing as intimidation. In the paediatric ward – we are all equal, which is why I have never felt like more of a team, or family. If Northern isn’t well known for its Paediatric training, it should be. I couldn’t have asked for a better place start to my training, and I can’t wait to come back.
There are plenty of horror stories about starting out a junior doctor. Most of these are true and undeniably there are plenty of hard times, but looking back that’s not what one remembers. I remember the laughs with the nurses on the wards, the pharmacist saving our patients time and time again by double checking everything we do. I remember the clown doctors making the unwell children laugh, the surgeons telling us about their kids and the families who thank you with tears in their eyes. I remember the registrars letting us suture in surgery, the patients who remember us months later, the other junior doctors who help out when the going gets tough, the bonding over Friday pizzas, the daily cuddles on the paediatric ward. These are things I remember. That’s what makes the Northern a great place to work, no matter how hard things get, or how difficult the day is, I can walk out of there thinking that I did something useful today, I helped someone or helped a family, I learned something, I felt like part of a team and above all I had fun!
Dr Nelu Jayawardena
Paediatric Resident
Dr Vincent Mok
Being a surgical junior medical officer at The Northern Hospital presents many opportunities. I find we get a lot more chances to scrub in and hone our practical skills. I was lucky enough to be guided through a few open appendectomies, use laparoscopic instruments (e.g. to retrieval the resected gallbladder via an Endocatch) and had lots of opportunities to close wounds with different suturing techniques. There is also opportunity to do research and audits, which is important for learning certain aspects of surgery and is a requirement of surgical training. The consultants and clinical support staff here at The Northern have been very approachable and supportive of my training needs.
Dr Vincent Mok
Surgical Resident (HMO2)
Dr Sarah Shugg
I started working at TNH this year after working at a regional centre, and I've found the transition really satisfying. In a larger hospital I get access to a wider range of cases and I'm acquiring valuable experience and skills. The challenge has been exactly what I need. It helps that the senior registrars are supportive and the consultants are approachable.
I was worried initially about how I would adapt to a new hospital, after coming from somewhere I was so comfortable because I knew everyone I worked with and knew what to expect. But it's been a very pleasant surprise to find how easily I've gotten to know people on the wards and in theatre, and I feel the same sense of teamwork and caring that I had in a smaller hospital.
That's the part that makes coming to work at Northern so rewarding - knowing that I'm learning and achieving my goals, but also that I'm working with a great group of people.
Dr Sarah Shugg
Surgical Resident
Dr Sam Pennell
During medical school, I had several core placements at the Northern - my very first rotation at the start of clinical school was at the Northern. When it was all new and scary, all I can remember is the blind panic of making each tutorial, scrabbling to get down as many notes as I could, hoping not to miss a key point, fearing that what I didn’t hear could be the difference between a pass and a fail. Amidst all the worry over exams, suddenly the end was in sight and we had to apply to hospitals, with the overwhelming fear in the back of your mind that the right or wrong choice could make or break your career and shape the rest of your life. I think it was then, comparing stories with other students at other clinical schools, that I realised how much the perseverance and the attention to detail in teaching from the staff at the Northern Hospital really stood out. On reflection, I realised how important the enthusiasm of your teachers was to the learning process, and my experience with the Northern Hospital was that it had that in spades. I hadn't a clue what I wanted to do with my life, but I figured that while I figured it out I may as well learn as much as I could about everything, in the hope that some of it stuck and was useful later on. So for my first postgraduate year, the Austin/Northern was my number one preference, and I was ecstatic to get it.
When it came time to picking a place for my second post-graduate year, I still had no idea where I wanted to go with my career. I had no idea what I wanted to do for the rest of my life - all I knew was what I liked doing. I had realised that the work that I enjoyed was no hardship at all. Remembering how much I had enjoyed doing paediatrics during medical school, with the amazing staff at the Northern Hospital, I applied for a HMO2 position in paediatrics here. I haven't regretted the decision since. The staff I remembered as being so fantastic during medical school were just as great to work for, and all the experiences I'd liked as a student here were just as real and even more rewarding, working as a junior doctor. All the things I'd learned here as a medical student were only scraping the surface of what I've learned in working here. Certainly all of my experiences at the Northern Hospital, in general surgery and medicine, but most of all in paediatrics, have helped decide where I will take the rest of my life.
