Trainee intern Lucy Gibson’s GP elective in community urgent care helped develop her confidence and build her practical medical skills. The internship was sponsored by medical waste company Interwaste as a way to give back to the community.
Hands-on experience, constant learning and a supportive environment were the highlights of sixth-year trainee intern Lucy Gibson’s GP elective at Victoria Clinic General Practice and Urgent Care in Hamilton.
Supported by a $3,500 supervision grant from medical waste company Interwaste, the placement was facilitated by the Departments of Primary Health Care at the University of Otago, Wellington – Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka, Pōneke and the University of Auckland – Waipapa Taumata Rau.
Before studying medicine at Otago, Lucy attended Katikati College, and she was keen to find a GP elective near her hometown of Waihi.
“There was never a dull moment,” says Lucy, who has just completed a six-week placement at the Clinic’s urgent care centre.
“It was really practical, everyday medicine. I was doing suturing and learning things like how to prescribe antibiotics for people with sore throats, diagnosing an infected wound, listening to lots of chests. It was really good hands-on experience. I felt this was one of the most valuable placements I’ve done so far.”
Lucy says the main challenge was keeping up with the learning.
“Just constantly having to have your brain problem solving when you don’t know what’s going to walk through the door next. It was challenging but mentally stimulating, and increasingly rewarding to feel my confidence developing with the encouragement and support of my supervisors.”
She was grateful for the ongoing support she received from her supervisor Dr Gishani (Gish) Egan and felt that the Clinic offered her the most supportive environment she’s encountered on any placement.
“I got to develop my independence, which I am really thankful for, and will also be thankful for when I go into my house officer years.”
She says she learned a lot about community-based urgent care and the experience has made her think about doing it as a specialty in the future. She is also interested in rural medicine.
“Rural health is very different to hospital medicine. I do like that you get more variety. You get a wider variety of clinical presentations, and you get to meet interesting characters all the time.
“Urgent care may be a specialty that I would like to consider, because it’s still in the community but you’re developing practical skills like minor surgeries, casting and fracture management.”
This is the second trainee intern placement sponsored by Interwaste. The company’s Marketing Manager Lara Green says Interwaste sees real value in giving back to the communities it operates in.
“Supporting a GP trainee intern is a natural extension of our work in the medical waste area,” says Lara.
“There’s a strong alignment between our role in managing medical waste safely and sustainably, and the training of future healthcare professionals. By supporting trainee interns, we’re helping to build capability in the sector while also strengthening the wider healthcare system.
“It’s very much a circular solution — we’re able to contribute to the development of new graduates, while institutions like the University of Otago continue to support and partner with us in delivering essential services. That mutual support is something we’re proud of, and we see it as an important way to invest in both our industry and our communities for the long term.”
– Kōrero by Margie Clark, Communications Adviser, Development and Alumni Office