Two doctors have also been employed at Griffith Base Hospital within the Murrumbidgee Local Health District.

The occasion was formally marked today with a welcome event at the University of NSW’s Rural Clinical School, Wagga campus.

During their one-year internship, the graduates will complete compulsory terms in medicine, surgery and emergency as required by the Medical Board of Australia.

The second year will focus on consolidating professional practice and experience in different clinical settings.

Intern Tayla Coles, who grew up in Wagga before beginning her studies in Sydney, said it was “nice to be back with family and serve the community”.

“I have a passion for rural health in general, I definitely want to work in the country and I think Wagga’s a fantastic place to work,” Ms Coles said.

“The hospital is such a fantastic environment and all the JMOs [junior medical officers] here have such a fantastic time.”

So far, challenges included the transition from being a student to being a decision maker.

“While it is a supportive environment, you do need to be able to make that jump to be able to say ‘okay, I feel comfortable enough to prescribe this’,” Ms Coles said.

Ms Coles said her future goal is to practise in rural health and medicine.

“I’m really interested in anesthetics so maybe down that road, but I'm certainly not keeping a narrow mind,” she said.

Dr Chris Mumme, director of pre-vocational education and training at Wagga Base Hospital, said the collaboration between the education and health sector in Wagga was strong, ensuring the region had first-class services.

“We’ve been very fortunate in our position that we’ve been able to handpick these trainees,” Dr Mumme said.

“We were well over subscribed with candidates wanting to come to Wagga and unfortunately we could take only 25 on.

“That means we get to choose the best of the best.”

The calibre of medical trainees include those from major cities nationally and internationally.

“Wagga provides the JMOs an excellent grounded training program,” Dr Mumme said.

“We’ve been able to foster the JMO of the year in NSW three years in a row, which is unprecedented.”

Similarly, MLHD chief executive Jill Ludford said interns were a vital part of the professional team at the frontline of the health system.

“We are very happy to greet this new team of enthusiastic and talented doctors who want to make a difference,” she said.

As part of the event, a number of awards were also handed to 2018 interns.

Dennis Neuen, intern of the year for 2018, said the award was significant to him “because we have such a wonderful group”.

“I came here as a student in 2017 and working here has just been amazing, it’s an incredibly supportive environment” he said.​

Mr Neuen said he was interested in rheumatology in the future.

The interns will rotate through a network of metropolitan, regional or rural hospitals, as well as GP practices.

Intern positions in NSW increased from 999 to 1021 in 2018–19 with the NSW Government investing around $107 million into the program each year.

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