The team from AMA Victoria wishes you all the best as you commence your career as a doctor.

At a time of excitement and anticipation, know that you are ready and that AMA Victoria will support you. We look forward to being there for you in your first year as a doctor.
 

Tips and advice for interns: commencing your first rotation

We are keen for you to feel prepared and confident as you commence your first rotation. To help you achieve this state we created a series podcast episodes called ‘inside internship’ where your peers & seniors have provided insights and tips on how to ace each of the three core terms. 

If you haven’t already, we would encourage you to listen to the episodes related to your first rotation.

We would also like to share with you our three top tips for successfully commencing your first rotation.

• Getting to work on time every time is one of the simplest and easiest things you can do as an employee to be seen as a good performer. Make sure when you start in a new department or health service you give yourself extra time to get to work in case you get lost, or something goes wrong. In our experience we recommend doing a practice run before the first day if you have never been to that hospital before.
   
• A comfortable pair of trusted shoes goes along way when you commence your career as an intern. Commencing your first rotation is not the time to wear in a new pair of shoes or to preference fashionable footwear over comfortable and supportive footwear.  The reality of the role is that you are on your feet a lot, most of the time in fact and for some of you this is something you are not yet conditioned to.  So, to avoid torturing your legs and feet, which will be sore anyway, choose shoes that you have worn in already, that get an A+ for support and comfort and that comply with any work attire requirements i.e. Not thongs or Birkenstocks!
   
• Being new does not make you inefficient: When you start in any new job you are not going to be as quick at completing tasks as someone who has been in the role for a while. If you need more time to complete a task because you are new you are entitled to be paid, do not be fooled into accepting that you are “inefficient” and therefore not entitled to overtime. Remember that medicine in Australia is set up to be an “apprentice” model which means you are learning on the job. If the employer has an issue with your performance, then they can manage that through “performance management” processes and if that occurs call us.