Northern Health Mental Health Division (NHMHD) is one of the largest mental health services in Victoria and is also home to one of the largest Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) training programs in the state.
The journey of the NHMHD training program began on 5 May 2023, when NHMHD was accredited by the Victorian Psychiatry Training Committee of the RANZCP as an independent training program following its disaggregation from North West Mental Health/Royal Melbourne Hospital.
Through secondment arrangements, the NHMHD training program provides a comprehensive range of RANZCP-accredited training experiences, including Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Adult Psychiatry, Older Adult Psychiatry, Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry, Addiction Psychiatry, Forensic Psychiatry, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health, Refugee Psychiatry, and Psychotherapy.
Currently, there are 32 RANZCP trainees and 22 Specialist International Medical Graduate (SIMG) registrars undertaking training towards Fellowship. In addition to their clinical rotations within the NHMHD clinical programs, trainees are required to complete a range of RANZCP requirements, including the Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ) written exam, Modified Essay Questions (MEQ) written exam, Scholarly Project, Psychotherapy Written Case, and Clinical Competency Portfolio Review.
NHMHD has more than 60 dedicated consultant psychiatrist supervisors who provide the supervision, guidance and support required for trainees to successfully progress through their training.
The journey of psychiatry training is long and challenging, both for the trainees and for the Training Program. We are proud to have celebrated the graduation of our first cohort of locally trained psychiatrists.
We warmly congratulate our first cohort of NHMHD-trained psychiatrists, Dr Jesse Irwin, Dr Nan Hyang Jordan, and Dr Kudzayi Musasike, on this significant achievement. Their graduation represents not only the culmination of years of hard work, dedication and perseverance, but also an important milestone in the development of the NHMHD Psychiatry Training Program.
We acknowledge the commitment they have shown to their training, their patients and the broader mental health community. Their journey reflects our shared commitment to creating a safe, kind and supportive environment in which our trainees can learn, grow and provide high-quality care to our patients.
We also extend our sincere appreciation to all of our supervisors, educators and clinical teams whose ongoing support, teaching and mentorship have helped make this achievement possible. Together, we celebrate this important milestone and wish our graduates every success as they continue their careers as psychiatrists.
Pictured in featured image: Dr Jesse Irwin, new FRANZCP and the new consultant psychiatrist of the Northern Psychiatric Unit.