Northeast Health Wangaratta

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Campuses where pharmacy intern will work:

Primarily at Northeast Health Wangaratta, Wangaratta’s public hospital, with short placements at Terry White Chemist Yarrawonga (provides hospital pharmacy services to Yarrawonga Health), Beechworth Pharmacy (provides hospital pharmacy services to Beechworth Health) and Benalla Health’s Pharmacy Department (provides pharmacy services to Benalla’s public hospital).

Northeast Health Wangaratta (NHW) is an outer regional rural health service providing hospital and health care to more than 90,000 people across North East Victoria.  NHW is the major referral centre for patients with complex health needs from Benalla, Yarrawonga, Beechworth, Bright, Myrtleford, Mansfield and the Victorian Alps.

Around 3 hours’ drive or train ride from central Melbourne, Wangaratta is the rural city in the centre of beautiful northeast Victoria.  Explore the wine and gourmet regions of Rutherglen, Milawa and the King Valley, the historical towns of Beechworth, Glenrowan and Benalla, and the beauty of Myrtleford, Bright and Mount Buffalo.  Albury/Wodonga, Yarrawonga, Lake Mulwala and the Murray River’s beaches are also within easy reach, as are the Victorian ski resorts of Mount Buller, Mount Hotham and Falls Creek for mid-year day trip to the snow.  Nearby bushwalking trails in the Warby Ranges are almost on your doorstep.  Art galleries, festibals & a variety of local attractions are well worth a visit, and you should bring your bike – there are a variety of mountain bike trails throughout the region for novice and experienced riders, whereas the Murray to Mountains Rail Trail offers the casual rider a more relaxing cycling experience with plenty of places to stop for a bite to eat along the way.

Intern program information

3 intern positions are available in 2025 (2 government funded, 1 hospital-funded)

Northeast Health Wangaratta’s Pharmacy Department is a team made up of 18 Pharmacists, 3 Interns, 8 Pharmacy Technicians & an Administrative staff member. 

Training & education is provided during working hours, Monday to Friday, and supported by early career pharmacist mentors and credentialed Clinical Pharmacy Educators.  There are weekly rostered tutorials throughout the year, including plenty of OTC and primary care scenarios. 

Interns rotate every few weeks through different clinical areas including General Medical, Surgical, Critical Care (including coronary care, intensive care & high dependency), Inpatient Mental Health, Rehabilitation & Geriatric Evaluation, Paediatrics, Emergency, Hospital in the Home, Dispensary, Day Oncology, Operating Theatres, Perioperative Care Clinic, and Medication Safety and Antimicrobial Stewardship.  With about 1/3 of the year in Medical and 1/3 of the year in Surgical, we can tailor the rotations in the other parts of the year to focus on your areas of interest.  Interns also have the opportunity to visit the local Pathology Laboratory and Medical Imaging Department to gain an understanding of the role these services perform.

Interns are allocated a clinical/ward/patient load early in their training, so are responsible for delivering the clinical and operational pharmacy service to our Maternity Unit, Dialysis Unit and Day Surgery Unit (under supervision) throughout the year.  This responsibility provides an excellent opportunity for development of prioritisation and time management skills, and also development of expertise in these areas. 

During 2021 our intern cohort expanded to 3 interns at NHW, plus 1 intern based primarily at Benalla Health, and so across these 2 hospitals the 4 interns learn together and work together.  NHW Interns spend a week each in Yarrawonga & Beechworth, to get a taste of how pharmacy services are provided to small rural hospitals from the local community pharmacy, and a week at Benalla Health (BENH) working in a small hospital pharmacy department. Benalla’s intern spends about 1/3 of their year on site at NHW.

Interns also have regular access to their peers across northeast Victoria, via regular videoconferencing with Benalla Health, Albury Wodonga Health, Goulburn Valley Health (Shepparton) & Echuca Regional Health Service’s pharmacy interns and preceptors.  Interns present & discuss cases to their peers & pharmacists in other hospitals, and participate in mock oral practice exams with pharmacists from outside their own hospital acting as their examiners.

Our program is designed with the key dates of the Monash University ITP in mind, plus we offer intern pharmacists the opportunity to complete their Graduate Certificate in Pharmacy Practice during their internship by undertaking Monash University’s Intern Foundation Program.  For those enrolled in MPharm at Monash University, we’re well equipped to support you to complete both the ITP and IFP components of your final MPharm year.

If you’re looking for an internship year that will be stimulating, challenging, exciting, well supported, and a bit of fun and with minimal weekend commitments, you’ve come to the right place.  We’re interested in getting to know you, so we can help you to apply your knowledge, & develop your skills & expertise in rural hospital pharmacy.

Contacts

Susan Trevillian, Deputy Director of Pharmacy
Tel: 03 5722 5326
Email: susan.trevillian@nhw.org.au or https://au.linkedin.com/in/susan-trevillian-5179a432

Stephanie Kunnel, NHW Intern Preceptor
Tel: 03 5722 5160
Email: Stephanie.Kunnel@nhw.org.au

David Ford, Director of Pharmacy
Tel: 03 5722 5324
Email: david.ford@nhw.org.au

Intern positions in 2025

3 total (2 DHHS funded, 1 hospital funded)

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