By Tanya Faulkner
Victoria’s Monash Health is paving the way for its new junior doctors as they take their next steps in their medical careers.
This year represents the largest cohort of medical and pharmacy interns and healthcare graduates in Victoria and Monash Health’s history.
Monash Health’s 2023 Graduate and Internship Program is the largest in Victoria, including 776 nursing, midwifery and mental health graduates, 124 medical interns (junior doctors), 13 intern pharmacists and 50 allied health graduates.
Grad student Tara Law is one of the 124 medical interns to take a position at Monash Hospital’s Casey campus, now on placement in general medicine at the site.
She said she has always had an interest in the sciences since high school, and this career was a natural fit for her.
“I grew up watching medical shows and being influenced by the industry while I was in school. I took all of the possible sciences in Year 12, except physics.
“I studied at Monash for eight years where I did my undergraduate course in bio med and science with majors in physiology and zoology. I developed an interest in human medicine during that time instead of animals, and did my postgraduate studies in medicine,” she said.
During her placement at Monash, she was heavily involved in the Covid-19 outbreak management efforts, otherwise known as contact tracing, and saw the pandemic from an epidemiological perspective rather than the frontline.
She said Monash was the first centre that Covid patients came into, and it was interesting to see a health service working in that capacity.
Fellow graduate Matthew Scopelliti had a different journey to Monash, but knew from the beginning of his studies that he wanted to join the health field and make a difference in people’s lives.
“I’ve always had a passion for helping others, and knew I wanted to be in the health industry in some capacity since I finished school,” he said.
Mr Scopelliti was originally offered a position as an occupational therapist from La Trobe in Bendigo, where he found his feet in the health industry and grew into the role before coming into Monash’s Grad Program.
“I took a year off last year to play cricket and travel in the UK. When I came back and started looking into Monash Health, I knew the grad program would be the best next step for my career,” he said.
Mr Scopelliti knew he wanted to move away from home and take the next big step in his career, and has been enjoying his first few weeks learning everything he can at Monash as part of the occupational therapy department’s sub acute team.
Associate Professor Anjali Dhulia said with a record 124 junior doctors joining the team this year, from a range of diverse backgrounds, Monash Health continued to be a place of choice for those starting their medical careers.
“We are so proud of each and every new starter who has already begun making a really positive difference at Monash Health, delivering great outcomes for patients and supporting our teams,” she said.
When asked what advice the new grads would give to those looking at a career in the health industry, both Mr Scopelliti and Ms Law said the biggest thing was to ask questions and learn everything you can.
“The best part about the Monash Grad Program is that there is lots of support from your peers, one-on-one supervision, and lots of effort put into the new grads going through the hospital,” Mr Scopelleti said.
“We get put into a rotational program and swap areas every six months so we can upskill and learn as much as possible.”
Ms Law agreed, and said it was a great place to start with lots of opportunities for new grads.
“The Casey campus gives us a small hospital feeling with a big network. We have direct lines to our supervisors like a smaller location, but we also have exposure to lots of different disciplines and opportunities with the Monash network,” she said.
Monash Health is Victoria’s largest public health service, providing high-quality care to one-quarter of Melbourne’s population across the entire lifespan, from pre-birth to end-of-life.
Associate Professor Dhulia said as Melbourne’s south-east population grows, so does Monash Health and its diverse team to ensure they can continue to meet the community’s needs and deliver excellent care.
The new graduates started their new positions at Monash earlier this year and will continue their rotations throughout the year.
