Medical training in Ballarat best

BALLARAT Health Service's medical specialist training has been rated the best in Victoria.In a survey of junior doctors, BHS outscored five of the state's services, including Royal Melbourne.BHS internal medicine director Dr Mark Yates said the feedback was a great result for Ballarat."It means we can attract high quality junior doctors into the hospital," he said.BHS also attained level two teaching status last month, and plans to gain top level-three accreditation to rival leading metropolitan organisations within a decade.It is the only Victorian rural health service to achieve level two status.Dr Yates said the step would help Ballarat attract high-calibre specialists to the region."This is really important, because if we want specialists working in regional and rural Victoria, we want them to work and train in regional Victoria," he said."People make their family connections and their social life where they train, so moving from level one to level two is critical. Instead of just having people on rotation for three to six months, we can have them coming through here for the whole two years."Dr Yates said achieving level three accreditation would further boost Ballarat's doctor supply."(Doctors) can make a choice and say, `I actually want to go and live in Ballarat and, what's more, I can build any career in medicine I would like from that teaching environment'," he said."(We) need to be at a level where people can come to Ballarat and make a life rather than just being itinerant visitors."BHS physician training director Dr Grant Phelps said the Base Hospital had come a long way since 2002."Five years ago, this hospital had no real training presence at all," he said."As a group, we decided we wanted to be the best physician training hospital in regional Australia and we think we're now pretty close to that - you're welcome to say the best."