Some of last year's interns talk about their experience at The Alfred and their future pathways.

Dr Sharmayne Brady, physician

``I have found The Alfred hospital a great place for internship. The network has an important focus on teaching, a wide variety of interesting patients, friendly staff and also a fun and social atmosphere. ``The career options are vast and all training programs offered are well catered for with excellent teaching. ``I'm particularly interested in adult physician training, so The Alfred hospital is a great place for me to continue my training.''

Dr Philippa Ulbrick, O and G

``For my first year as a doctor, I wanted to be at a large, well supported hospital that would provide me with excellent foundations on which to build my career. From day one, The Alfred was all that and more. All the staff are focused on teaching more junior members, whether they be medical students, interns, residents or registrars, so I always felt well supported and was constantly expanding my clinical knowledge.

``The Alfred provides interns with a very general first year, thoroughly covering the basic principles of general surgery, general medicine and emergency. I believe that no matter what area you work in, these basics are extremely important. I am interested in pursuing a career in obstetrics and  gynaecology and this year, as well as furthering general experience at The Alfred, I am doing a diploma in obstetrics and gynaecology through Sandringham Hospital, the first step towards a career in this field.''

Dr Debra Leung, critical care

``I came to The Alfred for the new opportunities it represented and have never regretted my decision. ``I have always found all the senior staff to be supportive and encouraging of us personally and in our career choices as junior doctors.

``I am planning to pursue a career in critical care medicine and The Alfred has facilitated this in every way possible. It was one of the few hospitals that offered a critical care stream for HMO 2s. The range and strength of the offered training programs has been a very influential factor in why I and so many of my friends have decided to stay on.''

Dr Charithani Keragala, physician

``I guess I was an Alfred person born and bred since my clinical years. But thinking back, what was it that made me want to return? The answer is multifaceted. The Alfred offers a highly challenging but equally enjoyable working environment. It constantly strives for excellence and this shows in the dedication of all the staff.

``Patient care is upheld and valued as the core of what we do as medical professionals. In particular, the physicians training program is of the highest quality with outstanding results every year. My goal is to eventually complete my physicians training and I believe my true potential will be encouraged here by a group of colleagues and clinical teachers/mentors who are absolutely outstanding.''

Dr Arun Ilancheran, surgery

``I did most of my undergraduate training at The Alfred and I guess I chose to come back to do my internship here as it felt like coming home. The wonderful clinical staff that made my learning experiences such a remarkable one encouraged me to return to the hospital. ``I felt The Alfred would be able to nurture me from my junior years as it provides excellent mentors and a vast array of sub-specialties.''

Dr Sarah Catford, physician

``My supposedly well informed preference list for internships was in fact completely arbitrary. I came from interstate and had no preconceptions regarding the various Melbourne hospitals.``Fortunately my choice to apply to The Alfred was in every way the right one. One of the qualities that I deem to be most pertinent and most unique to The Alfred is the friendly, supportive and non-threatening culture fostered by the human resources and medical staff, in particular registrars and consultants. ``Just as important, though are the education and training opportunities, social events, resources and monetary compensation for after-hours work.''

Dr Josh Szental, surgery

``The first thing you notice when walking into The Alfred is an electricity in the air. Busy residents rushing around the wards, the roar of helicopters carrying trauma patients landing on the roof, pagers going off, `Code Blue ward 3CTC'. ``The Alfred is an exciting place to work but junior doctors are very well supported. The education sessions and training programs are fantastic and there is a broad range of specialties from which to gain skills and experience. There is a strong sense of community and a well established mentoring program.''

Dr Dane Holden, orthopaedic surgery

``As a rural student I had never been to The Alfred but doctors who rotated to Shepparton recommended it as a good place to work so I was lucky enough to get in. I wanted a surgical year with my main interest being orthopaedics and three out of my five rotations included orthopaedics so again, I was lucky!

``This year I have been given all surgery, again including orthopaedics, so The Alfred has been great for me. During these early years we learn continuously from consultants and junior registrars right up to their fellowship year.''

 Dr Paul Davies, urology

``I did my undergraduate training at the University of Adelaide and returned to Melbourne in 2008 for my internship at The Alfred _ and to watch the Hawks win a premiership! ``I chose The Alfred for its large variety of specialist surgical areas that one may not get exposure to at other hospitals. As an intern I had a diverse year with trauma and orthopaedics as my first rotation.

``This was a busy first job, but highlighted the importance of teamwork within a hospital environment. General medicine then provided a great opportunity to learn how to manage patients with a variety of medical problems and included great supervision from registrars and consultants.

``Palliative care was an interesting and rewarding rotation where I could learn a lot about symptom management and psychosocial issues in addition to end-of-life care.'' I am interested in pursuing a career in surgery and am undertaking a surgical year at The Alfred.''

Dr Damon Jackson, physician training

``The Alfred has been very good to me, training and teaching me. I am looking forward to getting stuck into physician training under the guidance of the inspirational and dedicated Alfred consultants. When the day comes to be a `Reg', I'll just have to remember to treat the interns and residents as well as I have been treated!''

Dr Jennifer Shoobridge, surgery

``I studied interstate, but I enjoyed the time I had spent at The Alfred during an elective placement. I had been impressed by the focus on continued learning provided for doctors at every level.

``Some people perceive internship as a year that you just have to endure, but I had a great year! It's true that internship is challenging and you may feel the whole spectrum of emotions within the first hour of work each day, but I felt well supported at The Alfred.

``The Alfred has helped me to develop a solid foundation on which to build my medical career.''