General News
24 January, 2026
Interns checking vitals
NEARLY 70 medical graduates are relieved to have finished their studies and start their medical careers at Cairns and Hinterland Hospital (CHHHS) and Health Service.
The new interns have spent the last week taking part in a structured orientation program designed to familiarise them with the health service, its clinical practice and procedures before starting work.
Following orientation, the interns will rotate through a range of hospital units, including general medicine, surgery and emergency medicine, as well as additional terms in other specialised areas. The rotations aim to provide experience across acute and critical care, chronic condition health care and perioperative care.
Junior doctor Luke Blakeway said the mood among the new graduates was positive after years of study.
“I think it’s relief, honestly, like being able to get through all the med school exams,” he said.
“It was a pretty big challenge, big achievement for everybody, we finally get paid, which is nice.
“So yeah, obviously everyone’s really excited. We’ve done all this training for so long, we finally get to use some of these clinical skills,” he said.
Another junior doctor Challan Wood said returning to work in Cairns was meaningful.
“It’s very exciting, very nerve-wracking, but pretty humbling to come back to Cairns and work here in such a lovely community and such a really good hospital supported by doctors,” he said.
“I wanted to do something that could help people and improve the community, whether that be Cairns or anywhere else that I ended up later in life.”
Dr Wood said he was born and raised in Cairns and hoped to give back to the community that supported him growing up.
Dr Mackenzie McAvoy from Innisfail said starting work came with a sense of responsibility.
“It’s a mix of nerves and anxiety. I’m very aware of the responsibility of the role, but I’m excited to start and feel like I’m actually contributing to the team,” she said.
Dr Lucas Kresevic said patient safety had been a major focus during orientation.
“They’ve really been drilling into us on how to keep the patients safe,” he said. “That’s what matters first and foremost is doing our jobs well and effectively.”
CHHHS clinical training director Dr Lata Mantha said the intake of 68 junior doctors was an increase on previous years, with many expected to rotate through regional and rural facilities.
“More than 35% of our inpatient population are First Nations patients and that’s a great experience.”
Dr Mantha said interns were trained in culturally-appropriate care and as well as extra support for First Nations doctors.
