News

Joondalup Heath Campus welcomes 47 new medical interns

Jan 17, 2025

Joondalup Health Campus (JHC) has welcomed 47 new medical interns as part of its commitment to building a sustainable workforce for the future.

The new intake replaces the 47 medical interns who completed the requirements for general registration during their year training with the hospital in 2024.

Director of Post Graduate Medical Education Dr Athula Karu said JHC plays a valuable role in supporting interns to gain high quality clinical experience.

“Our program has been developed over several years and we are fortunate to be able to offer our interns exposure to a diverse case-mix in several specialties across the public and private hospitals and an opportunity for a regional rotation,” Dr Karu said.

The 47 interns include locally trained interns and international graduates who have studied within Australia or abroad.

Dr Sarah Cummings is a 2025 intern raised in Kalgoorlie, a regional city almost 600km from Perth.
She didn’t always have ambitions of becoming a doctor, but instead finished a bachelor’s degree and moved to China to teach English for a few years.

“In China I met a cardiologist who was screening children in one of the villages nearby which had a high rate of congenital abnormalities and referring them for treatment in the nearby city, almost certainly improving their quality and length of life. I knew no other job could ever be as interesting or rewarding!”

Dr Cummings subsequently returned to Western Australia to complete a medical degree and has now begun her first rotation in anaesthetics and says she’s found her colleagues very welcoming and eager to teach.

“I love the environment at Joondalup, I have felt welcome from day 1,” said Dr Cummings.

“There is an abundance of teaching and support and I was specifically interested in some of the unique terms JHC has to offer interns including in-house anaesthetics, paediatrics, and obstetrics and gynaecology.

“It was an easy choice to work at JHC.”

Unsure of what she may like to specialise in, Dr Cummings says she has ambitions of practising in rural Western Australia and is looking forward to a general surgery rotation in her hometown, Kalgoorlie, this year.

Dr Karu recognised the staff of JHC, the Medical Administration team and Postgraduate Medical Education teams who provide outstanding support to the learning our medical interns.

“The interns make an incredible contribution to patient care during their year with us and we are able to offer some registrar positions at the end of their internship year to continue that contribution.”