Student doctors begin year of regional medicine at Albany Health Campus

The Great Southern welcomed 16 new residents last week as this year’s crop of Rural Clinical School of WA students started their training at Albany Health Campus.

Trainee doctors from The University of WA, Curtin University and Notre Dame will spend the next year in Albany gaining hands-on experience as country doctors, working in the wards of Albany Health Campus helping patients across a range of specialities.

Visiting Albany for the first time, Perth-raised UWA student Amy Collins said she was excited to get involved in a new community and explore the region.

“You can do and see a lot more than you would in the city,” she said. “You never really know what you are going to encounter and you kind of have to be a jack of all trades.

“It is just a great approach to be treating someone really holistically and know where they come from and the community.”

Curtin University student Bharadwaja Cherukuri, originally from Melbourne, joked he picked Albany in search of weather similar to his home town.

“Also, for the amazing beaches, the amazing views and in a rural community everyone knows each other and it is a lot more close-knit,” he said.

Albany-raised Notre Dame student Darcy Norman said he was excited to be home, after switching to medicine following a stint as a physiotherapist.

“I thought I could study up, become a doctor and maybe come back to the Albany area or the Great Southern and give back to the community,” he said.