The medical graduates will rotate through different sections of the hospital, such as surgery and emergency, where they will be supervised in their work. 

Dr Robindro Chatterji and Dr Janice Hui said they wanted to work in a smaller hospital for the “close knit community” and better access to higher level staff. 

Dr Chatterji, who is originally from Singapore, studied at UNSW in Sydney and said he fought for placement in a rural area, because he knows that’s where he will eventually be employed. 

“I feel very privileged to be here as it can be difficult for International students to get rural placements,” he said. 

Dr Janice Hui of Sydney studied at the University of Newcastle and previously spent a year in Taree as part of the Rural Clinical School. 

“I knew I liked the way hospital was run and really felt a part of the team,” Dr Hui said. 

“The educational resources here are really good in that we have more one-on-one time and we gain skills sooner rather than later like learning how to perform an ultrasound.”

Dr Hui said crucially she has been able to practice “long cases” with senior staff, where she must evaluate the most important information in a patient’s condition and relay it to a colleague. 

“We get to practice them regularly and receive feedback, we really fine tune our presenting,” she said. 

Both Dr Hui and Dr Chatterji said they have found the town and hospital setting very “friendly”. 

“When you wander down town people smile and say hello,” Dr Hui said. 

“I ride my bike to work and I was so shocked when someone stopped to say G’Day,” Dr Chatterji added. 

Both agreed the nurses, doctors and patients are great to work with.

“The staff are less stressed than in larger hospitals and the patients are less guarded,” Dr Chatterji said. 

NSW is the only State to offer two-year employment contracts to graduates.

This includes the one-year internship followed by a year which focuses on consolidating professional practice and experience in different clinical settings.

Under the NSW Rural Preferential Recruitment pathway, 131 medical graduates will spend the majority of their first two years working in a rural setting.