NSW Internship Preferencing and Explanation

[jennyy1]

Yes, I believe so.

Wait what, if CV and uni marks are completely irrelevant to which hospital you'll be allocated to in NSW, how do they choose applicants for internship and residency other than your priority category??

 

[LMG!]

Wait what, if CV and uni marks are completely irrelevant to which hospital you'll be allocated to in NSW, how do they choose applicants for internship and residency other than your priority category??

I believe it's largely a preferencing and ballot system.

 

[DamE]

How does this work? Unless you mean in individual hospital networks?

As a cat 2 applicant currently anxiously awaiting an offer (I also applied through DRA), I've noticed that HETI has already made many offers to cat 3 and 4 applicants via DRA, which makes me concerned that I won't get one (this is based off their Twitter account).

I read in earlier posts that everyone in cat 2 should get an offer (?), but in the Annual Report from last year, 19 people in cat 2 did not receive an offer, while in the year before 62 people in cat 2 did not get an offer. Am I reading the tables wrong?

Could anyone please clarify? I know there are no guarantees for cat 2 but I was really hoping to move back to NSW .

Hi purple1, did you end up getting an offer? Would love to know as I am also a future Cat2 applicant for NSW.

 

[yesiam]

Hi guys, I'm also a cat 2 applying for NSW internship next year. I'm interested in applying through the DRA pathway and I'm trying to understand what my realistic chances are. I'm interested in the John hunter, Wollongong and Gosford networks, but unsure in what order to place them. Does anyone have any advice on this? Thanks for your help!

 

[dotwingz]

Very poor chances as a cat 2.

From the HETI report last year

Regional pathway acceptances for 2020 for NSW medical graduates

Domestic students (Category 1) 195 International students (Category 4)
42

Total 237

This is because any positions a Cat 1 doesn’t fill in DRA, goes to the optimised allocation, before being given a chance by a Cat 2.

Out of the each of them, Wollongong is the least subscribed (through the DRA process) at 65% filled, then Gosford at 71% then JHH at 96%. So that order is probably your best bet, cause DRA fills first come first serve.

 

[yesiam]

Very poor chances as a cat 2.

From the HETI report last year



This is because any positions a Cat 1 doesn’t fill in DRA, goes to the optimised allocation, before being given a chance by a Cat 2.

Out of the each of them, Wollongong is the least subscribed (through the DRA process) at 65% filled, then Gosford at 71% then JHH at 96%. So that order is probably your best bet, cause DRA fills first come first serve.

Thanks dotwingz! I'm a little confused why there were only acceptances for cat 1 and 4 via the DRA. Is this because those cat 4s may have put a less competitive network as their first preference than the cat2/3s applying via the DRA?

 

[Areyousure?]

I’m a cat 4 who got Network 15, in round one itself.
In my opinion as a cat 2, you would get any of the hospitals you rank as your first choice under DRA.
also for DRA, only your first choice gets looked into, not the rest.

 

[dotwingz]

https://www.heti.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/576471/Direct-Regional-Allocation-Pathway-Procedure-for-2021-Clinical-Year.pdf

Have a read of this,

If positions still remain at a DRA network, following the above process i.e. after all Category 1 applicants have been offered a position, HETI makes offers to the next category of applicants as per the NSW Health priority list, who have put a DRA network as their first preference. HETI uses PTAP to randomly select who will receive a position offer.

So after the first round - when every Cat 1 applicant has got an offer through every pathway, that’s when they start allocating to the other categories. A very popular hospital like JHH won’t have any spots open after that optimised allocation, and you would be wasting your DRA by selecting it there.

The only networks open for the non cat 1 DRA applicants are undersubscribed ones, not every DRA hospital is undersubscribed.

Pick wollongong or gosford, I don’t know the relative popularity of either of them, but JHH is most certainly off limits.

EDIT: I would think that the reason why there’s no Cat 2/3s getting DRA spots is that there really is only a minor advantage in applying through the DRA for these positions, you are only getting into undersubscribed hospitals, which you were likely restricted to anyways...

 

[Areyousure?]

https://www.heti.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/576471/Direct-Regional-Allocation-Pathway-Procedure-for-2021-Clinical-Year.pdf

Have a read of this,


So after the first round - when every Cat 1 applicant has got an offer through every pathway, that’s when they start allocating to the other categories. A very popular hospital like JHH won’t have any spots open after that optimised allocation, and you would be wasting your DRA by selecting it there.

The only networks open for the non cat 1 DRA applicants are undersubscribed ones, not every DRA hospital is undersubscribed.

Pick wollongong or gosford, I don’t know the relative popularity of either of them, but JHH is most certainly off limits.

EDIT: I would think that the reason why there’s no Cat 2/3s getting DRA spots is that there really is only a minor advantage in applying through the DRA for these positions, you are only getting into undersubscribed hospitals, which you were likely restricted to anyways...

I do know quite a few cat 4s who got Newcastle. So can assure its definitely not off limits, atleast for the year 2020 it wasn’t.

 

[Mana]

Just want to clarify this:

If you are a category 2 or below, the order you preference does not change your chance at obtaining an internship (just changes your chance at specific hospital networks). However, the allocation process you choose DOES affect your chance at an internship because DRA is allocated before optimised. This is probably the gist of what dotwingz is getting at here - if you are in a lower category, your chance at using DRA to get JHH is much lower than using it to get into Gosford or Wollongong based on previous years' relative popularity.

I haven't followed how this year unfolded, but I do know that JHH is both a very popular DRA choice and also that there are offers in most networks to lower categories, JHH included, so while it is probable that category 4s got into JHH this year, that doesn't change the validity of what dotwingz is saying - your chances are indeed much lower if you select an oversubscribed network.

 

[Akila1234]

I know a few International student ( Cat 4) who got into Wollongong this year.

 

[Mana]

I know a few International student ( Cat 4) who got into Wollongong this year.

Not sure how useful this information is, every network has Category 4's in it (even RPAH and RNSH.)

 

[Areyousure?]

Not sure how useful this information is, every network has Category 4's in it (even RPAH and RNSH.)

the difference is, is a considerable number of cat 4s tend to offers in DRA hospitals in round 1/2 itself whereas the ones who got offered in RPAH AND other hospitals is through late vacancy, which is basically a lottery. Tbf the whole thing is one big lottery lol, especially if you are not a cat 1.