September 25, 2020This year, a record number of Hospital Medical Officers (HMOs) from Northern Health were accepted into the prestigious Royal Australian New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG) Training Program.
For the last four years, two HMOs from Northern Health have been successful in getting into the program however, this year, our doctors have doubled that number, with four HMOs being accepted – a new record for Northern Health!
Dr Brittany Green, Dr Hemma Valluvan, Dr Daniel McLean and Dr Michael Jones were all successful and are excited for what the future brings.
RANZCOG trains and accredits doctors in the specialties of obstetrics and gynaecology in providing the highest standards of health care. Their highly competitive Training Program is a six-year specialist program where only 25 doctors per year in Victoria are accepted from only seven hospitals.
Two trainees will spend the first four years based at Northern Hospital, with another two based at another health service in Melbourne. In their fifth and sixth year, they can be based anywhere in Victoria.
Dr Green said, “After being part of the northern community for the last couple of years, it’s really exciting to be accepted onto the training program and to be able to continue my journey in obstetrics and gynaecology at Northern. I’m really proud of everything all of us have achieved and I look forward to working with them as we continue our careers.”
Dr Valluvan is equally as excited to commence her specialist training.
“It’s something I’ve been working towards for a very long time and I’m really glad that I have the opportunity to work for women and the community in areas that I’m really passionate about,” she said.
Dr Paul Howat, Divisional Director for Women’s and Children’s Services, is delighted to see four of our doctors accepted into the program.
“Congratulations to the successful applicants! We’re all very proud of you – and your hard work and efforts have been rewarded. For those who are going to other hospitals, we’d love to have you back here in your senior registrar years,” Dr Howat said.
The program is extremely competitive and receives several hundred applications every year, so unfortunately not all who are interviewed get through.
“For those who didn’t get through, we recognise your disappointment, we support you and we’re behind you. We have faith in you – the path is not always a straight line and sometimes the longer path can end up being more rewarding and enriching,” Dr Howat said.
Dr Jones said, “I’ve been a resident in the obstetrics and gynaecology department at Northern Health for the last two years and it’s been a really great environment to learn and be supported, so it’s really exciting to have the opportunity to continue to grow my skills and work towards becoming a specialist in the field.”
“We’re feeling very grateful – we all love our job and we’re all very excited to continue training,” Dr McLean concluded.
Featured Image (left to right): Dr Michael Jones, Dr Brittany Green, Dr Hemma Valluvan and Dr Daniel McLean
