Liberal candidate for Willoughby, Tim James, welcomed the 44 new medical interns coming to the Royal North Shore Hospital.
With a large cohort of new medical interns joining the NSW Health system this year, Mr James said the Royal North Shore hospital is getting interns at a critical time to boost the local health workforce.
"As the son of a Royal North Shore Nurse, I really appreciate the amazing job that our health workers do. We owe them all a great debt of gratitude – particularly for the way that they have been keeping our community safe during this pandemic.
Interns are medical graduates who have completed their medical degree and are required to complete a supervised year of practice in order to become independent practitioners.
"I believe that the interns have won a lottery as far as their placement goes, as they will be learning from some of the best doctors in the world at one of our state's finest medical facilities," Mr James said. "One of my key priorities, if elected, will be supporting and enhancing the Royal North Shore Hospital's status as a teaching hospital."
In the largest ever health workforce boost in the state, the NSW Government has invested a record $2.8 billion to recruit an additional 1,060 doctors, 5,000 nurses, 880 allied health staff and 1,360 hospital support staff over a four year period.
The new doctors who commenced orientation this week will be entering a training program with networked hospitals throughout the state, providing formal and on the job training.
They receive two-year contracts to rotate between metropolitan, regional and rural hospitals to ensure the diversity of their experience. They also join different units in each hospital, including surgery and emergency medicine.
