Find out what our team learnt on their recent visit to Tasmania
When you are recruiting to hospitals across Australia you can conduct research about the places, but nothing beats seeing them with your own eyes. That’s why over the past 6 months, the team at Wavelength has visited more than 30 hospitals covering almost the entire country.
We spoke with two of our Recruiters about their recent trip to Tasmania where they visited the hospitals they help every day.
A taste of the Tasmanian landscape
What parts of Tasmania did you travel to?
We visited three hospitals in Northern Tasmania - Launceston, Mersey and North West Regional (Burnie). These are key clients we’ve worked with for as long as we’ve been at Wavelength – which for Emma, who has visited these hospitals twice before, is an impressive 10 years.
The trip also gave us the opportunity to meet with seven of our placed locum and permanent Doctors across Emergency Medicine, General Medicine, Gastroenterology and Respiratory.
What was the purpose of your visit?
Firstly, to build relationships. It’s important to meet our clients in person as it gives us the opportunity to have in-depth conversations about the hospital and their needs. We shared market knowledge to identify how we can service their staffing needs better and plan for the future.
Secondly, it gives us firsthand experience of the hospital and the area. It’s vital for us as Recruiters to be able to speak with conviction about the places and the roles we discuss with our Doctors and provide a true picture. To be able to confidently say that YES you really can see the ocean from the hospital corridors in Burnie, or YES the ED in Launceston is state-of-the-art and futuristic, is invaluable to our doctors.
Describe the hospital environment. Was it what you expected?
The hospitals are all different, but one thing was clear across all three – they are staffed by incredible people who work hard and genuinely care about the communities they serve.
Dr Lucy Reed, Director of Emergency Medicine at Launceston Hospital, is dedicated to making a difference. One of her current challenges is the number of adolescent youths who are being presented to the ED when they are displaying challenging behaviour. They’re not sick but there is nowhere else to send them. Lucy is part of a committee that are working hard to change that.
Tell us about one interesting person you met.
We spoke to an ED Consultant who we recruited several years ago from the UK. It was lovely to hear how grateful she was to Emma and how much she loves Tasmania. She said the move had ‘saved her life’ remembering the back to back shifts in the UK which led to sleepy drives home with barely a chance to lay in her own bed. Now, she’s really embracing the laid-back Tasmanian lifestyle and has recently bought a plot of land by the sea to build a house on and settle with her family.
We also picked up one vital tip from the Emergency Medicine Consultants showing us around – never mention how calm it is! They looked at us in horror at our comment, as we had likely now triggered the storm!
What did you learn from the visit?
Meeting people face-to-face is always hugely rewarding, especially when you talk to people every day for many years like we do. It’s like meeting old friends.
Our doctors shared their thoughts on the hospital and the surrounding area (we came back with lots of coffee shop and restaurant recommendations to share with you!) and we spoke to Medical Admin about what we could do to make their lives easier - the answer was always paperwork!
Can you describe your visit in 3 words?
Enlightening. Stunning. Welcoming.
It’s important for all our Recruiters to speak with genuine knowledge when discussing roles with our Doctors.
If you’re a Doctor considering moving to Tasmania, register with us and a Recruitment Consultant will contact you for a confidential discussion. Alternatively, you can browse our current permanent jobs in Tasmania or search our current locum jobs in Tasmania.