The team at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne were very helpful and provided clear information as to what needed to be done when. On arrival in Melbourne, they were very helpful in providing guidance and assistance to overseas doctors with all aspects including setting up bank accounts, finding accommodation etc.

I worked at The Royal Women’s Hospital in Neonates for the first 6 months and then moved to The Royal Children’s, where I worked in A&E, on nights and relief cover, and in oncology. I had worked very briefly as a registrar before my OOPE, but my experience in Melbourne greatly improved my confidence and competence in a wide range of paediatric specialties. In neonates I was able to consolidate my procedural experience and became more involved in antenatal counselling and end of life decisions than I had been previously. In A&E I was often the resuscitation team leader and gained further experience in safeguarding issues and SIDS. When I covered specialty nights, I was the hospital night team leader, which involved coordinating the night team’s activities, seeing any new specialty admissions and conducting senior reviews on inpatients where required. In oncology I was responsible for the care of all patients in the bone marrow transplant unit and also coordinated care and support for newly diagnosed children with cancer and terminally ill children.

In addition to the great clinical exposure, the experience of moving to a new country and setting up home there, forming new friendships and the amazing opportunities for travel made the OOPE a very worthwhile and memorable experience.