Registered  members with 100+ posts do not see Ads

Internship: Victoria Explanation and Questions

pi

Junior doctor
Emeritus Staff
I don't think it matters at all :) At this stage of your career, any good reference from any consultant is acceptable.
 

cloudysky

Lurker
Hi all,

I have a slight dilemma - I was planning to use my GP (spent a semester rural with him) from last year, but found out from current interns who also put him as a reference for their internship application that he gives straight 4s. I'm just not sure if that score is really high enough?

I have a reference for rot2, but am unsure if I'll be able to get one so early on in rotation 3. I was just wondering if straight 4s will heavily impact my application or not?

Thanks!
 

pi

Junior doctor
Emeritus Staff
Don't think anyone really knows tbh, I never requested my scores and don't really know what others got either. I would imagine a good chunk of people get a perfect reference. I would push for a reference from your current rotation.
 

cloudysky

Lurker
Thanks for that Pi. I just realised that I can also put an interstate GP I worked with during JFPP as a reference too. Do you think an interstate GP holds lesser weight than a Victorian doctor?
 

pi

Junior doctor
Emeritus Staff
Wouldn't think it would matter.
 
Hi Pi, I was wondering how difficult it is to come back o metro after a year if I go rural for internship? I’ve been hearing conflicted information regarding the difficulty.
 

pi

Junior doctor
Emeritus Staff
Always more difficult to enter a health network as an unknown compared to if you were already an intern there - so it's always an uphill battle. Overall, it depends on where you want to work and how good you are, "metro hospitals" describes quite a few different health networks, and securing a PGY2 job is going to easier at some than others.
 
Hello there! I'm a priority 2 International student who wants to do internship in city or outer metro but unsure about the ratio of metro to rural hospitals to preference. Although I have a Z score of 4.3, which may be considered 'not bad', I imagine there are lots of high achieving internationals fighting for very few metro spots so that makes this a very average score. I don't have any publications but recently submitted an abstract to a conference and it is pending acceptance. Is it a bad idea to apply for mostly metro spots? Also, should I be selecting the rural services with more intern spots to maximise chances (since some have only 5 spots)? Lastly is it a good or bad idea to bring up the fact that I am P2 in my hospital cover letters (to emphasise that I'd like to practise in Aus)? Thanks in advance for your advice :)
 

pi

Junior doctor
Emeritus Staff
I don't have a lot of experience with cat 2 applications, but I think a 50-50 split of metro-rural would sound reasonable? I think it would be best to ask some previous cat 2s though.

Regarding cover letters, I don't think there is any need to include that unless you think it's particularly important. Personally, I wouldn't.
 

Registered  members with 100+ posts do not see Ads

sab

Lurker
Hello!!!

Do Category 3 (interstate) applicants usually get interview offers?

I heard they never do interviews and internship offers only come out August onwards but mostly around November and sometimes December.
BUT I received an interview offer email, which went to my spam. The email came on 12th June, (with other Cat1 people) the day before my exams and was unexpected so I did not realize until they sent a second email to enquire. I had no special considerations etc in my application.

Just want to know if this was a mistake on their part, because I will have to miss placement and go there for the interview and I wont invest the time/money if they will not offer me a spot and realize that I was Cat3 anyway. Because this particular hospital was not high on my ranking to start with.

If I get an offer from them (very low chances i am thinking, since cat 3) I will not get any other offers in VIC, is that correct?
 

KT3005

Lurker
Hi there - I'm a 2020 graduate currently at UOW - was just wondering if anyone can shed some light on the chances of obtaining an intern job in Victoria as an intestate graduate? I understand it's competitive etc, was wondering if anyone has gotten a JMO role and can give some tips on how to maximise my chances?

Thanks in advance :)
 
Hello medicos!!

What's the consensus on having consultants from one's (interstate) elective act as a reference for Victorian intern applications?
 

pi

Junior doctor
Emeritus Staff
Hello medicos!!

What's the consensus on having consultants from one's (interstate) elective act as a reference for Victorian intern applications?
Shouldn't matter much.
 

Zombie

Member
Shouldn't matter much.
Hi Pi and others
I would like to thank Pi and others that have helped me with information during my internship application last year. I also would like to say that I’ve achieved the internship at a metro hospital although my z score is under 3. I say this so that any future candidates who happen to have a similar score don’t despair.
 
Hi Pi and others
I would like to thank Pi and others that have helped me with information during my internship application last year. I also would like to say that I’ve achieved the internship at a metro hospital although my z score is under 3. I say this so that any future candidates who happen to have a similar score don’t despair.
Hi what advice do you have for someone with a sub 3 z score trying to get into a metro hospital in victoria. I would say outer suburbs is pretty good as well. Do the hospitals have a specific ranking system for you based on z score or the way you preference them?

Also because of my z score I'm kinda worried about being a good doctor. Does anyone have any good advice on how a final year med student can prepare for internship? Like any books, guides to read in the meantime?
Also anyone have any advice on how to pass the AMC test?
Thanks!
 

DrDrLMG!

Resident Medical Officer
Administrator
HughMungus , interestingly, we've heard it rumoured that Vic have ditched the Z score process for this year's graduating class. Have you also heard this and do you have any details/updates?
 

HughMungus

Monash MD V
HughMungus , interestingly, we've heard it rumoured that Vic have ditched the Z score process for this year's graduating class. Have you also heard this and do you have any details/updates?

We are not entirely sure yet. COVID-19 has given us a good reason to overhaul the system and go towards the ballot based system which would render the Z score useless. There are speculations that the Z scores could come into play for PGY2 jobs if the internships are all ballot based but this is all relative speculation. This is mainly spurred by the fact that many of us cannot secure references this year because it's inappropriate in certain situations and some placements have been cancelled. Realistically the Z scores are the only differentiator we have atm as they have already been determined.

IIRC most med schools/medical student societies are for the change to ballot based because it is fair to have an even distribution of doctors of all academic leves everywhere in Victorian hospitals rather than all the top dogs limited to RMH or Alfred for example. I don't really care much for it as my z score should be comfortably over 4.5 and I don't want to go to the big 4 anyways. Monash is the only med school that is in limbo to the change because we care about our international students given that they will be the hardest hit by this.

I think a better time to answer this is when PMCV releases our application criteria for this year. So maybe shoot me a message in late April for a better answer.
 

Registered  members with 100+ posts do not see Ads

Greenhorn

Lurker
2020 Victorian Z-scores came out today!

Unfortunately mine is an abysmal 1.8

Would love some advice so I feel less uncertain about my future;
  1. As a local CSP, will I even be able to find work in a rural hospital? Are bigger rural hospitals like Ballarat/Bendigo reasonable choices? Or even further out like Wangaratta/Shepparton?
    • As an Australian-born Chinese, am I going to be alone in the countryside?
  2. Will my Z-score be brought up in interviews? What should I say?
  3. In terms of real life competence, what should I do over the next half-year to revise and prepare myself to be a real doctor?
  4. What kind of snowball effect will this have on my career as a resident/reg/fellow/consultant?
  5. What would you do in my position? I've heard of applying interstate, or even taking a year off and doing research etc to polish your resume.
    • Taking a year off is appealing because I don't feel "ready" either in terms of competency or mental health
    • I've never had any mental health issues, but I suspect I've had undiagnosed dysthymia/MDD for years now.

I'm graduating from Unimelb, for what it's worth

Thanks for reading, guys 😅
 

Perplex

Emeritus Staff
Emeritus Staff
2020 Victorian Z-scores came out today!

Unfortunately mine is an abysmal 1.8

Would love some advice so I feel less uncertain about my future;
  1. As a local CSP, will I even be able to find work in a rural hospital? Are bigger rural hospitals like Ballarat/Bendigo reasonable choices? Or even further out like Wangaratta/Shepparton?
    • As an Australian-born Chinese, am I going to be alone in the countryside?
  2. Will my Z-score be brought up in interviews? What should I say?
  3. In terms of real life competence, what should I do over the next half-year to revise and prepare myself to be a real doctor?
  4. What kind of snowball effect will this have on my career as a resident/reg/fellow/consultant?
  5. What would you do in my position? I've heard of applying interstate, or even taking a year off and doing research etc to polish your resume.
    • Taking a year off is appealing because I don't feel "ready" either in terms of competency or mental health
    • I've never had any mental health issues, but I suspect I've had undiagnosed dysthymia/MDD for years now.

Honestly I can't give any specific advice. However, I think it'd be a good idea to apply broadly and to networks you have an interest in working in, and an area you could see yourself living in for potentially 1+ years.
 

chinaski

Regular Member
I'd add that it sounds like a barking mad idea to take a year off rather than proceed into whatever internship you'll be guaranteed as a CSP in Victoria.
 

Registered  members with 100+ posts do not see Ads

Top