Junior doctors boost NT Health workforce

NT Government

The Territory Labor Government is boosting our healthcare workforce.

The Northern Territory has employed over 200 new junior doctors across NT Health hospitals, boosting the medical workforce for the future.

The cohort is made up of graduate doctors and Resident Medical Officers (RMOs) who have started rotations at Royal Darwin and Palmerston Hospital, Katherine Hospital, Gove District Hospital, Alice Springs Hospital and Tennant Creek Hospital.

Graduate doctors are interns who are undertaking their first year of clinical practice after completing their medical degree, while RMOs have obtained full registration after completing one year of clinical experience.

The 2024 cohort is comprised of medical officers already working in the NT, as well as some who have relocated from across Australia and overseas to commence their roles at NT Health.

NT Health’s training is delivered by an award-winning team of clinicians who provide an outstanding program that prepares junior doctors for their work in Territory hospitals through orientation programs, on-the-job education and post-graduate qualifications.

Junior doctors will learn how to navigate the unique elements of working in regional and remote locations, with support through professional development sessions, simulations and on-site training around cultural safety, health systems and management of complex patient presentations.

A variety of career paths and specialisations are offered to junior doctors at NT Health, including general medicine, renal medicine, cardiology, paediatrics and neurosurgery.

This emerging workforce of junior doctors is part of the Territory Labor Government’s effort to increase and retain health professionals in the Territory.

Quotes attributable to Minister for Health Selena Uibo:

“The Territory Labor Government’s continues to build our health professional workforce. These new graduate doctors will begin their career in the unique setting of the Northern Territory, where they will build exceptional clinical skills with opportunities to further their professions in urban, remote and rural settings.

“We know that when professionals undertake their training in the Territory, it is more likely they will stay in the Territory given the unique opportunities the Territory has to offer.

“The 2024 graduate doctors will help relieve some of the pressures Territory hospitals and emergency departments have been experiencing.”

Northern Territory Government

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