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Gold Coast Health welcomes 94 new junior doctors

Gold Coast Health has welcomed the newest cohort of junior doctors beginning their careers at Gold Coast University Hospital.

A total of 94 medical interns are giving the Gold Coast’s frontline healthcare workforce a welcome boost.

Through orientation, interns will gain a thorough understanding of their roles and responsibilities, ensuring they are ready to begin placements.

Later this month interns begin rotations as junior doctors in Emergency Medicine, Surgery and Medicine sub-specialties, Mental Health, Anaesthetics, Obstetrics and Paediatrics, and other disciplines as part of continued training to provide care for the community. 

Gold Coast Health Chief Executive Ron Calvert said the new cohort of junior doctors would gain insights and confidence from clinicians already working in one of Australia’s busiest health services.

“These interns are the future of Queensland’s healthcare system and we’re making sure they have the skills and support to put into practice what they’ve studied so hard for,” Mr Calvert said.
 
“To see four First Nations medical interns join Gold Coast Health this year — the most that have ever joined in any single cohort — is incredible.  
 
“Boosting the number of First Nations healthcare professionals working in our hospitals and health facilities is a key part of our commitment to deliver better health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders on the Gold Coast.

Executive Director Medical Services Dr Raghu Murthy said the Gold Coast was proud to welcome its largest ever intake of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander junior doctors.

“This is a huge milestone achievement for each of these junior doctors and an exciting day for Gold Coast Health,” Dr Murthy said.

“We are continuing to make investments in the size, capacity, and skills of our First Nations workforce to ensure the experiences of First Nations people who engage with Gold Coast Health are inclusive and positive.

“This year’s entire cohort of junior doctors will help us improve our services further while we help them become the best medical practitioners they can be, with the skills and knowledge to provide excellent care for the community.”

First Nations intern Unngoorra Harbour said he was driven to medicine after growing up seeing little Aboriginal representation in healthcare in his hometown of Winton, in Northwest Queensland.

“I’ve seen the issues a lot of our people face, especially in those areas, and I’ve always been motivated to play my part and try to help out in my community,” Dr Harbour said.

“I was lucky enough to go to boarding school, which opened opportunities, and I realised healthcare was probably the best avenue for me to have an impact in my community.”

Dr Harbour said he hoped to inspire a new generation of First Nations Australians to pursue a career in healthcare.

“Everyone’s heard the saying ‘If you can’t see it you can’t believe it’ … but this is a realistic vision and you can be a part of it,” he said.

Fellow intern Chloe Allen said joining Gold Coast Health at the same time as three other First Nations interns gave her a sense of strength through working and learning together.

“I hope that strength will enable us to be a part of the change that creates safer access to healthcare for our people,” Dr Allen said. 

“I’m keen to start my work in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s health, and specifically in women’s health and that side of things.

“I think there’s a lot of work to be done and I’d love to be a part of it.”
 


Last updated 23 Jan 2025