The Executive Director of Medical Services and Clinical Governance for the NWHHS, Associate Professor Alan Sandford, said this fresh intake would hopefully help with the doctor maldistribution between cities, and rural and remote regions.

“This maldistribution is a federal problem; it’s not at all new, but it is gratifying that we are fully recruited for our interns, in fact we were oversubscribed, and we have a fantastic retention rate, thanks to our focus on creating pathways for these young interns.

“All five of our last year’s interns have elected to stay on in Mount Isa to continue their training,” Professor Sandford said.

He praised the work of James Cook University (JCU)’s Generalist Medical Training team, who work with the interns, ensuring the right people with the right skills are placed in the right place.

“JCU is definitely helping the hospital and health services to change the maldistribution,” Professor Sandford said.

“For our part we maintain our focus on constantly giving our junior doctors options that are attractive and meet their needs and the needs of our community.”

Medical Education Officer for the NWHHS, Sabine Orda, said Mount Isa Hospital was the ideal training ground for those interns interested in training as rural generalists.

“We are rural and remote, but big enough to provide them with the teaching, training and supervision they need.”