Many of you are in the process of deciding where you want you want to work next year. We know many of you are happy to opt in for a second year with your current employer so the process for you is very easy and you have already accepted a pre-match offer. 

However, many others are wanting to join a different health service in either Victoria or interstate for a variety of reasons including:

• To broaden and diversify your base of experience,
• To be closer to family and friends,
• To pursue a particular training pathway, and/or
• To access rotations and experience that can’t be gained at your current employer. 

We are hearing from many of you that navigating the HMO2 job application process can be confusing and that it is very different from the intern application process - You are correct on both accounts!

The intern application process was very streamlined, and you were guided through the process and well supported – this is no longer the case for HMO2! 

You now have a range of options to consider, and it is up to you to manage and navigate this process, no one is holding your hand and coaching you through this. 

So, we thought we would share with our valued intern members a few insights and resources to support you to navigate this process. 

• In Victoria, Health Services are your employers and will be the ones who ultimately hire you. 

• The only exceptions to this are if you are applying for an accredited training position in General Practice, Rural Generalist, Psychiatry or Basic Physician Training (Adult Medicine & Paediatrics & Child Health) which are the three main pathways you can stream into accredited training roles in PGY2. 
   
• For these accredited training roles / pathways the relevant training consortium/college is involved in &/or makes the decision and it is up to you to engage with them to understand the process. 
   
• For HMO2 roles and some training roles the recruitment matches are administered by the ‘Postgraduate Medical Council’ in the respective state, others are managed directly by the health services or state health department.  Again, it is up to you to understand this process.  Each state can have a different process. See resources below.
   
• In Victoria the ‘Postgraduate Medical Council of Victoria’ (PMCV) administers many of the PGY2 (HMO2, RG2, BPT1&2, Psychiatry) recruitment match processes.  However, they do not make the hiring decision, this still sits with the individual health service / training consortium or college, and you will still need to apply directly to them, like you did for the intern process. 
   
• Some HMO2 roles are not included in the PMCV match. These are typically for more competitive streams aligned with training pathways such as Critical Care, Anaesthetics, O & G, Emergency medicine as well as some more niche pathways. The application process is typically managed directly by the health services offering these roles and it is up to you to contact appropriate contact points to understand more. In fact, we encourage you to do this.
   
• So, for all roles you need to go direct to the decision maker (the health service of college) to understand what additional information they require for their job application and what the process will be. To do this:
  • Review the position description on their recruitment portal and understand the application process.
  • Attend information sessions and take a tour if offered.
  • Contact them directly and make a time to meet with them if you can.
  • Speak to peers and seniors training with them so you have all the inside information on why it’s good to work/train with them and what they do differently.
     
• Finally!  There is also no standardised pre-recorded online interview to complete for PGY2 roles. Instead interviews and any additional assessment will be done directly with the individual health services / college in a format that is decided by them – so expect the unexcepted and be sure to clarify what is expected and the format.

Resources

• RACGP (GP Training)
• ACRRM (GP Training)
• HMO2 (Not all roles), Rural Generalist (RG)2 & Basic Physician Training (BPT 1 & 2) Adult Medicine (Victoria)
• Monash Health BPT
• Royal Melbourne Hospital BPT
• Austin Health BPT
• Alfred Health
• Northern Health BPT
• Eastern Health BPT
• Western Health BPT
• Peninsula Health BPT
• Barwon Health BPT
• BPT Adult Medicine (All states other than Victoria) and Paediatrics & child health (all states)
• RACS – Becoming a surgeon