"I had been planning to work in Australia since about 3rd year of Medical school. I did my elective in Adelaide and travelled around. We liked Australia and felt it would offer us a really good standard of living.
Once I had completed F2, I contacted several medical recruitment agencies. Skilled Medical responded to me immediately and my recruitment consultant, Will, was full of ideas and advice. He listened to what I was looking for and told me about several suitable jobs.
The application process was easy with lots of help to fill in applications etc. I had a Skype interview with the clinical director of O&G at Bundaberg which went really well and was lucky enough to be offered a job during the Skype interview. Will was quick to follow up and chase further information for me about the job offer and conditions. Skilled Medical were there for me through the entire process. They helped with my medical registration and immigration process and checked my application to make sure it was all filled in correctly. The process would have been a lot more tedious to do it alone.
We finally arrived in Australia in January 2020. We were provided with hospital accommodation for a month on arrival as part of my contract, which really helped, especially when you have a young child. Life here immediately exceeded expectations. I was full time but seemingly working similar hours to my part time job in the UK. The clinic is never overbooked and mostly finishes on time. On a normal day, I usually have time for a walk along the beach after work. We have gone from a two- bedroom flat in the UK to a four-bed house with a garden which is 10-minute walk from the beach. We are outside all the time because of the fantastic Queensland weather and my little girl is thriving. Bundaberg has all the facilities that you need and really doesn't feel remote. We live in Bargara, by the beach and it feels like we're on holiday all the time. I have to pinch myself that this is our life now.
It has been pretty easy to slot into work here as generally it is very similar to the NHS. Obviously, there are paperwork and guideline differences as there would be with any hospital move. Generally, it is a lot quieter than in the UK, which allows more time for teaching and I've already had more hours of protected teaching than I had in 4 years in the UK. We do still do 7 nights in a row here which is quite tiring but generally the hours are better. I'm hoping to work in Bundaberg for 2 years and then potentially apply for training after getting permanent residency. Unfortunately, getting on to O&G training here is more competitive than in the UK with many more hoops to jump through but I believe not all the specialties are like that.
At the moment, we're extremely happy with our decision to move. We've settled in very quickly and feel very much at home."