St Stephen’s Hospital has proudly welcomed its first medical student on placement to the hospital this year through the UnitingCare Clinical School.
Keen to gain experience outside of a metropolitan area, Ryan who is studying medicine at The University of Queensland, chose a placement at St Stephen’s.
"I wanted to come to Hervey Bay mostly to see what regional medicine is like, and to make some decisions about where I want to work and live in the future,” Ryan said
“Since coming here, I’ve found it has amazing community and is a beautiful place.”
With the support of his preceptors, St Stephen’s orthopaedic surgeons, Dr Simon Elix, Dr Bandula Palapitige and Dr Navi Bali, and the hospital’s education team, Ryan has been able to broaden his clinical experience and exposure to a range of surgical cases.
“My preceptors were amazing and made every day into a great learning experience. They were keen for me to get involved and offered a variety of learning opportunities from theatre to clinic,” Ryan said.
“I had the chance to interview and assess patients in clinic, who I would later see have their conditions treated with surgery and other measures.
“I also had the chance to scrub in for a huge variety of orthopaedic surgery cases and learn about the surgery up close. Overall, I loved every second of my time there.
“The team was very accommodating with any learning opportunities that were offered to me.
“I’d like to thank the team at St Stephen’s and the UnitingCare Clinical School for organising this placement for me. The team were incredibly welcoming and made every effort to help elevate the experience,” he said.
The UnitingCare Clinical School offers medical students the opportunity to learn from and gain practical experience with our leading specialists across UnitingCare Hospitals – The Wesley Hospital, St Andrew’s War Memorial Hospital, Buderim Private Hospital and St Stephen’s Hospital.