Young Doctor Internship

Year 9 student Bella recently concluded a 5 day Young Doctor Internship in London, which she thoroughly enjoyed.

The international program hosted 182 students from across the globe. Bella was the youngest student in attendance and the only Australian selected.

Despite arriving on the hottest day on record for London, Bella coped incredibly well. Each day commenced at 8am and finished approximately 12 hours later, after she shared a campus dinner with her new friends.

A number of students were unable to cope and dropped out from the first day onwards. However, Bella persisted to the end, concluding with an incredible 90% assessment result.

Over the duration of the course, Bella was taught and performed suturing, taking of blood, patient diagnosis, emergency room simulation, hospital ward rounds, virtual reality accident and emergency situations and met actual patients with life threatening conditions.

The internship was conducted at the University College of London and the University Hospital. Bella learnt quickly not to wear white whilst she watched other students, since any mistake made with taking blood from the hypo reality arm with full blood capability, easily showed on your clothes; some students looked like they had been involved in a very nasty accident! Thankfully, this was something she became very good at.

She also learnt how to apply to a medical school, engage at networking events and interview techniques. 

Bella was met with positive feedback from the Doctors and training staff, who commended her School on her extended knowledge. They often mistook her for being older due to her level of maturity, confidence, ability to network with strangers and offer intelligent answers to some difficult situations.

She represented the School honourably. 

The College eagerly told Bella about their 10 day internship next year, which includes a visitation to Oxford University and Prague. This has set a new goal for Bella and she is excited about what her future in medicine will hold.

Bella and her family graciously commended Hills Grammar for their support of her application and encouragement of her attendance, stating, “We just wanted to say thank you for the opportunity for her to take part in such a wonderful experience and for the countless sentiments of support from the School.”