Dr Tony Arida is one of 137 junior medical officers who began a supervised year of practice in order to become independent practitioners at hospitals across the Western Sydney Local Health District (WSLHD) last month.
As a third-year medical student, Dr Arida returned to Auburn Hospital to complete an obstetrics and gynaecology rotation under the guidance of Glennys, Senior Midwife at Auburn Hospital Maternity Outpatient Clinics.
“My mother told me on my first day to look out for her, and I found her, and she remembered my family very well,” Dr Arida said.
“To my astonishment, she was able to name my uncles and aunts by first name and recounted the overwhelming family presence during all the births she had been involved in. It was surreal.
“The experience overall is one to cherish and a reminder to me that patients truly do not forget who is there in the most significant moments of their lives.”
And Dr Arida wasn’t the first student that Glennys has delivered and worked with – “one of my current midwifery students is also someone I delivered”.
“I am very passionate about antenatal care; there is no greater gift than the gift of a child,” she said.
“To be able to see what a lovely, caring and mature person Tony has become, I thought, ‘his parents must be ever so proud’.
“I was very fortunate to be involved during the journey of their pregnancies and be able to care for them.”
WSLHD chief executive Graeme Loy welcomed the group and said “they will play a pivotal role in supporting our ongoing response to Covid-19 and other essential services at a crucial time for our health system”.