Young Doctors Love the Oz Life

A two-week stint at the Narrogin Health Service has given four Irish doctors in training confidence heading into their final year of study — and a desire to eventually return to work in Australia.

National University of Ireland Galway medical students Olivia Dixon, Rachael O’Neill, Maeve Murphy and Rosemary Joseph took part in the annual placement in WA, which includes two weeks at Narrogin’s hospital, organised by the Rural Clinical School.

The group said the placement was highly regarded among NUI Galway students who had taken the opportunity in the past.

The recommendation, along with a love for TV soap Home and Away, had enticed them Down Under.

“At our college, a lot of the older- year students that have graduated, they’ve done their internship out here and when they’ve come back, they’ve had nothing but good things to say,” Ms Murphy said.

“It is a shame that we (qualified Irish doctors) can only get a two-year visa, because they’d love to stay longer.”

All four said they wanted to return to work in the Australian medical system after graduation because of their experience in Narrogin and at Perth’s Fiona Stanley Hospital.

The Irish Echo, an Australian Irish newspaper, reported last month that Australia was the primary beneficiary of an exodus of Irish-trained doctors from the country.

According to a report published in the Human Resources for Health journal, 326 Irish citizen doctors were issued with working visas, both temporary and permanent, from Australia.

The group who left Narrogin this week to explore the State’s South West said a better salary and lifestyle were luring young doctors from their homeland.