#HelpMeHelpYou Internship Campaign

Hey guys! My name’s Richard, a 5th year student from UNSW, and I am here to tell you my perspective of being a international medical student in Australia.

As a introverted person who has never been to Australia before medical school, I didn’t have high expectations of being here. However, my perspective quickly changed, as my experience living in Australia has been incredibly life-changing - I was able to make a lot of friends, got involved in various university initiatives, and even became part of my local medical society. It wouldn’t be possible if it wasn’t for the incredible people and culture here. I felt that I’ve grown so much just by being here, and I want to give back to the community that welcomed me with open arms.

Unfortunately, my aspirations of being a doctor working in Australia may not come true, as I am affected by the internship crisis as an international student. I may potentially face unemployment and have to go back to my home country. Despite being able to become a doctor in Indonesia, it is not within my best interests as I am not accustomed to the tropical diseases, the technical language, and the vastly different healthcare system, without being able to contribute the skills that I have attained through my experience in an Australian medical school.

It's hard not to feel disappointed, discouraged, and even afraid.

I have senior friends who were in the same boat as I am now - I’ve seen them become more and more anxious for every internship offer rounds that they miss, having a heart filled with endless uncertainty. With the way that the internship crisis is progressing, even local students will become affected with the internship crisis in the next few years. It’s not a matter of being local or international.

I don’t think anyone who has spent a colossal amount of time and effort in studying medicine should be subjected to such an unfair treatment.

But things don’t have to be this way! I am not asking for much, however if the government is able to stop new medical schools from being built, regulate the amount of international students entering an Australian medical student, and increase the allocation priority rank for every NSW-trained students, we will be able to tackle this issue, step by step. Furthermore, a good regulation system will be able to improve the quality of student and JMO placements, making us better, more capable doctors in the future.

Richard is a 5th year medical student from the University of New South Wales

#HelpMeHelpYou is a collection of stories from current NSW students who are genuinely interested in working in NSW after graduation & are worried that they may not be able to make good use of their hard-earned medical degree. Read all students' stories here.

Want to share your story? Email [email protected]

I’m Waka, a 5th year medical student at UNSW.

2016 will mark my 16th year living in Australia. Despite living here for 2/3 of my life, completing primary and high school in Sydney, I too will be affected by the internship crisis and uncertainties of employment post-graduation. I still find it hard to believe, that after 6 years spent at medical school, and my family sacrificing everything to invest in more than ¼ million on education fees alone, I may not be able to complete internship, which are compulsory years of training for us to be accredited doctors.

Without internship training, no hospitals in Japan will accept us, so going back is not an option. Having lived in Sydney for so long, my life is here. I love Australia, and I cannot wait to be able to give back to so many Australians I’ve met over the years, through helping them in the best way I’ve come to know, through being a doctor. For my supportive family who have invested so much in my degree, the idea that all this will amount to nothing, is too painful.

We have a shortage of doctors and healthcare demands to meet. And there are so many Australian trained doctors who want to stay in this country we’ve come to love, being pushed away. It’s a disappointment that this issue exists, and my only hope is that the government will take responsibility and realise the importance of keeping Australian trained doctors in Australia.

Waka is a 5th year medical student from the University of New South Wales

#HelpMeHelpYou is a collection of stories from current NSW students who are genuinely interested in working in NSW after graduation & are worried that they may not be able to make good use of their hard-earned medical degree. Read all students' stories here.

Want to share your story? Email [email protected]

Having spent part of my childhood in Australia, I decided to return to study medicine here after graduating from high school overseas.

The Country has always fascinated me, and rural medicine is something I have always hoped to be a part of. Medicine in all of Australia’s major cities are top notch and are undoubtable landmarks of a developed country, yet in further away from the cities, poor rates of healthcare plague the very same humans in this lucky country. 

Upon learning that I may not be able to work in locations where healthcare needs are in dire straits, despite having trained entirely in the very same country is a true disappointment, and I hope that the government realises the importance of having Australian trained doctors remain in Australia. 

Timothy is a 4th year medical student from the University of Western Sydney

#HelpMeHelpYou is a collection of stories from current NSW students who are genuinely interested in working in NSW after graduation & are worried that they may not be able to make good use of their hard-earned medical degree. Read all students' stories here.

Want to share your story? Email [email protected]

My name is Elaine Ng and I am passionate about the NSWMSC Internship Campaign!

2016 is a pretty big deal for me. It marks my 10th year in Australia, and also my graduation from the long and grueling medical program. However, it is no cause for celebration. Like many others, I am affected by the internship crisis, and am thus faced with the harsh reality of unemployment and eventual deportment. I am ill equipped to work as a doctor in my home country Malaysia, where they speak about different diseases in different languages. I will have wasted more than a quarter of a million dollars and a quarter of my life trying to achieve a dream that maybe was impossible to begin with.

All this can change for the better. For future years, I believe every stakeholder has a role to play in managing this crisis. Governments should not approve new medical schools until this ridiculous bottleneck of placements ease (more students does not equal more doctors!). University placements for international students needs to be regulated, and that the lack of internships should be made very explicit before international students apply (it was not the case for me). The CMI program must continue, especially if local students are to miss out on internships as well. Lastly, us students should definitely fight for the right to stay! We are home grown medical students, and should not be treated as foreigners.

I have dedicated half my degree doing research and studying in a regional town. I understand your healthcare system and population health needs intimately. I’m in love with your country and your people. So please Australia, #helpmehelpyou.

Elaine is a 5th year medical student at the University of New South Wales


#HelpMeHelpYou is a collection of stories from current NSW students who are genuinely interested in working in NSW after graduation & are worried that they may not be able to make good use of their hard-earned medical degree. Read all students' stories here.

Want to share your story? Email [email protected]

I’m Clement, a 4th year international medical student from Toronto, Ontario Canada. As a fellow medical student I’m here to give you a human outlook on the “Internship Crisis” and its impact on the international medical student community

Now I’m not here to complain about the dwindling jobs in my profession. I must admit, part of me is gracious for the increased intake of medical students which provided me the opportunity to enter medicine directly from high school. However, now I am facing the long term consequences of the poorly regulated industry involving the exportation of prestigious diplomas.

Many people ask me why I chose to study across the world in Australia instead of Canada. for two reasons:

1. Direct entry to medicine – Did not require the uncertainty of starting an undergraduate degree before I could even apply for medicine

2. Higher chances of getting in as an international studentWho would not take this opportunity?

By undertaking this degree I assumed that I would be able to work in Australia or at least receive an equal opportunity to my fellow colleagues who have graduated with the same degree as I have.

Now you may call me shortsighted as I should have realized before applying how difficult it would be just to acquire a job I’ve been trained for. Well, it’s true and now I am paying for the naïve decisions I made 4 years ago. 

Should future international medical professionals feel as if the hard work and finances they have poured into their degrees is useless without the ability to put the skills to use?

Had I known, and had I not have been so rash maybe I would have decided not to take on this overseas degree. Don’t get me wrong I love the medical degree, I have poured my life into medicine. My only desire is to practice medicine in the system that I have trained in for the past 4 years.

This is a call for reform that will affect at least 100 graduating students in NSW each year, who eager to enter the workforce and make a difference in the lives of patients. This is a representation from the hours of training each student dedicated to learn how to work in the Australian Healthcare System and treat Australians. 

I am not asking for any miraculous policy changes. Just for NSW to follow the precedent of other states and to level the playing fields for domestically trained international students. 

I see potential in the commonwealth funded program and Rural Preferential Network and I am gracious for the small steps to change. However the problem now requires a larger solution and there are only so many training positions that can be provided through private and rural hospitals. HETI requires modernization and a change in policy to stop discrimination against international students.

Clement is a 4th year medical student at the University of Western Sydney


#HelpMeHelpYou is a collection of stories from current NSW students who are genuinely interested in working in NSW after graduation & are worried that they may not be able to make good use of their hard-earned medical degree. Read all students' stories here.

Want to share your story? Email [email protected]