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Central Australia
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Alice Springs Hospital (ASH) is seeking motivated trainees for senior registrar and medical registrar positions - including accredited general/acute care medicine advanced training positions and sub-specialty positions.
The medicine here is entirely unique. Around 75% of patients are Indigenous - many from remote communities. Co-morbidities and social conditions can be complex and effective communication is essential. The catchment area is over a million square kilometres with a strong focus on Indigenous and remote health.
Trainees have access to acute general medicine as well as rotations through subspecialties including nephrology, endocrinology, palliative care, alcohol and other drugs, remote outreach, outpatients, senior medical registrar and Tennant Creek Hospital (TCH).
ASH is a 183 bed teaching hospital with strong links to TCH, Royal Darwin Hospital, Royal Adelaide Hospital, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and Flinders Medical Centre with many visiting specialists from these hospitals.
The department of medicine staff consists of a mix of general physicians and other specialists, many with dual training. We have local cardiology, rheumatology, respiratory, infectious diseases, palliative care, alcohol and other drugs, a large renal unit, gastroenterology, rehabilitation and many regular visiting specialists.
There is on site general surgery, orthopaedics, obstetrics, gynaecology, psychiatry, paediatrics, day procedures unit and an 11 bed ICU. There are 4 general medical teams, a busy outpatient department and we provide outreach clinics to some of the most remote parts of Australia.
Alice Springs is the regional hub of Central Australia with an urban population of approximately 30,000 people. It is multicultural with well-established schools and amenities, strong “café culture”, quality multicultural restaurants, local markets, an active entertainment scene and multiple local sporting clubs with something for everyone.
Alice is bicycle-friendly - rarely taking more than 10 minutes to get anywhere. Out of town are places to camp under the stars, swim through gorges, explore rocky mountain ranges and hit world-class mountain bike trails. The sky is sunny 95% of the time, making it perfect for outdoor activities.
Applicants must be AHPRA-registered and eligible for training positions. Some positions are accredited for general and acute care medicine advanced training. Subspecialty advanced trainees wanting experience in rural general medicine or indigenous health are strongly encouraged to apply.
Alice Springs Hospital and our networked hospitals have a strong basic physician training (BPT) program, covering a range of general and specialty rotations as well as preparation for the RACP exams.
Our BPT program is best suited to applicants in their PGY3 or above and can include entry at registrar level.
PGY2 applicants should apply to the resident medical officer (RMO) BPT stream where we have 2 x 2 year positions allocated to ‘pre-BPT’ rotations to prepare trainees for physician training in their PGY3 year.
About the program
Alice Springs Hospital is a level 2 teaching hospital, with 183 beds, servicing a total population of around 40,000 people in Central Australia, including approximately 25,000 in Alice Springs and the rest living remotely, up to 1000 km away.
Despite the population being fairly ‘small’, there is a unique diversity of country, language and culture making this place rich and fascinating.
Trainees are part of service delivery across a large geographical area, engaging with remote Aboriginal communities and Aboriginal led health organisations.
The pathology encountered with direct patient care is unique and requires clinicians to employ the biopsychosocial model of care on a daily basis as well as develop their skills around cultural understanding, cultural care and cultural safety.
Aboriginal people make up 30% of the NT population, but reflect 75% of patients in the Central Australian healthcare system.
Our diversity presents both opportunities and challenges. Working and training in Central Australia allows trainees to be part of delivering innovative, integrated patient-centred care in a rural and remote setting.
Participating in clinical care which is culturally safe and responsive in a linguistically diverse population challenges clinicians to place all patients at the centre of their care as well as deepen their understanding of the strong links many patients have to country and culture.
NT Health is known for its infectious diseases service and many trainees come from around the country and overseas to gain experience in this area in a remote setting close to South East Asia.
Alice Springs Hospital shares its campus with Flinders NT Medical School and the Remote Centre for Health, offering the opportunity for staff to engage in research and teaching.
Rotations and requirements
Basic physician trainees will be given a balance of core and non-core training terms over the 12 to 24 months of training. The maximum amount of BPT time that can be completed at ASH is 24 months.
During your acute general medicine rotations you'll be required to partake in nights and admitting shifts in a week on/ week off roster. The rest of the rotation you are allocated to 1 of 4 general medical teams. The admitting shifts are a great opportunity to see a wide range of presentations and work alongside our outstanding emergency department to manage acute presentations such as stroke and acute coronary syndromes.
Specialties and education
The following specialties are covered in the basic physician training program:
- General medicine
- Renal
- Medical oncology/ haematology /gastroenterology
- Alcohol and other drugs
- Cardiology/ coronary care unit/ stroke unit
Formal teaching opportunities include:
- Weekly hospital wide grand rounds
- Weekly department of medicine teaching
- Weekly basic physician trainee registrar bedside teaching
- Weekly division of medicine journal club
- Weekly subspecialty meetings; cardiology, echocardiography, renal, endocrinology, infectious diseases, lupus/ vasculitis, rheumatology
RACP exam preparation
In preparation for the exams, there is weekly teaching including bedside teaching, written exam preparation and a formal mock clinical exam provided to all candidates. This is protected teaching time.
Alice Springs Hospital is a clinical exam site for the RACP clinical exam and we have many regional examiners within the department of medicine who thoroughly understand the examination process.
We have access to other written and clinical training programs through our secondment hospitals; Royal Prince Alfred (Sydney), Royal Adelaide Hospital and Flinders Medical Centre (Adelaide).
2 weeks of study leave is approved for study courses.
How to apply
You can apply to join the basic physician training program between May and August each year, but we also welcome applications at any time outside of that period.
If you're a junior overseas doctor and interested in working with us, we encourage you to reach out to discuss opportunities.
To apply for basic physician training, you'll need to provide a:
- Resume;
- cover letter outlining your training goals, aspirations and whether you wish to enter training at the RMO or registrar level; and
- names of 2 physician referees who can assess your potential for the program.
Contact
Jolene Preece, Medical administration, jolene.preece@nt.gov.au
Dr Kirsten Neal, Registrar Recruitment, kirsten.neal@nt.gov.au
Dr Sajan Thomas, Director of Physician Education, sajan.thomas@nt.gov.au
Medical Recruitment, Alice Springs, MedicalRecruitmentAsh.THS@nt.gov.au
The hospital has a strong generalist focus. Medical patients all come under one of our 4 medical teams. Other than cardiology, sub-specialties do inpatient consults but do not have admitting bed-cards. The general medicine department has about 50 to 80 inpatients admitted under our service at any given time.
GACM advanced trainees have exceptional access to high quality rotations in acute general medicine, core and non-core rotations. They can also apply for our sub-speciality training programs (see sub-speciality page). You can apply for 6 to 24 month contracts depending on what is available and your training needs.
Training structure
ASH supports up to 4 GACM advanced trainees.
General medicine terms:
- Acute and core general medicine – allocated to general medicine team, includes rotating through admitting and night shift, and 2 outpatient clinics weekly.
- Outpatients and outreach – attached to general medicine and multiple sub-specialty local and visiting clinics including gastroenterology, rheumatology, endocrinology, allergy, immunology, neurology, respiratory, infectious diseases. Attend remote clinics with general medicine and sub-specialty teams.
- Tennant Creek - general combined general medicine and renal, mix of inpatient consults for their 20 bed hospital, general medicine outpatients and support for the renal dialysis unit.
- Renal (core and non-core) - apply through general medicine OR subspecialty renal pathway.
- Coronary care and stroke unit and cardiology – this is supported by a cardiology advanced trainee, junior medical officer and 2 to 3 onsite cardiologists. Depending on staffing this may include some nights, similar to an ICU term.
Sub-specialty terms:
- Renal (core and non-core) – suitable for general medicine OR renal trainee. Apply through general medicine OR subspecialty renal pathway.
- Palliative care – apply through subspecialty palliative care pathway. Community, inpatient, outpatient and home visit service. 2 palliative care physicians for support and an on-site state of the art palliative care hospice.
- Alcohol and other drugs - apply through subspecialty AOD pathway. Community, inpatient and outpatient service. 2 AOD consultants for support.
- Endocrinology – suitable for general medicine trainee or endocrine trainee. 2 on site endocrinologists and 4 diabetes educator positions.
- Cardiology – recruited as secondment from RAH. Coronary care and stroke unit and cardiology – this is supported by a cardiology advanced trainee, BPTs, junior medical officer and 2 to 3 onsite cardiologists. Cardiology advanced trainee is expected to do some on call evenings/ weekends.
- Infectious diseases – recruited as secondment from Barwon Health. 3 on site infectious diseases physicians.
All trainees are expected to take on a departmental portfolio and be involved in hospital committees, including but not limited to: BPT exam preparation, teaching lead, newsletter/ communication, procedure support, Quality Use of Medicines Committee and morbidity and mortality.
ASH has strong links with Royal Darwin Hospital and are included in their weekly general medicine teaching program. Sub-specialties offer their won teaching programs (see sub-specialty programs).
Structure of the general medical service
General medicine comprises 4 inpatient teams, staffed by a consultant, registrar, and usually 2 junior medical officers (JMO), with each team having an average of 10-20 inpatients per day.
The teams follow a ‘take day’ model however patients are divided evenly between teams unless a patient is already known to a particular team.
The average number of patients admitted to the service each on-take day is 7 to 15.
The rapid response team of the hospital is the responsibility of the admitting registrar and the ‘on-take’ teams JMO, in conjunction with ICU support.
Additionally, each medical team has a geographic region for which it provides an outreach service.
Each medical team also has its own outpatient clinic, which is attended by the team registrar with the support of the team consultant. General medicine advanced trainees do an extra general medicine clinic weekly, or can negotiate a subspecialty clinic.
Medical team registrars are expected to help one afternoon each week in exercise stress testing.
Specialty terms
Specialty terms are governed by their respective units.
Cardiology, renal, endocrinology, gastroenterology, infectious diseases and rheumatology are predominantly outpatient-based services, providing a consult service to inpatients. Alcohol and other drugs and palliative care have bed-cards, but also offer inpatient consults and out-patients services both onsite and offsite.
Sub-specialties
- Renal (core and non-core) – suitable for general medicine OR renal trainee. Apply through general medicine OR subspecialty renal pathway
- Palliative care – apply through subspecialty palliative care pathway. Community, inpatient, outpatient and home visit service. 2 palliative care physicians for support and an on-site state of the art palliative care hospice.
- Alcohol and other drugs - apply through subspecialty AOD pathway. Community, inpatient and outpatient service. 2 AOD consultants for support.
- Endocrinology – suitable for general medicine trainee or endocrine trainee. 2 on site endocrinologists and 4 diabetes educator positions.
- Cardiology – recruited as secondment from RAH. Onsite cardiologists. Coronary Care and Stroke Unit and cardiology – this is supported by a cardiology advanced trainee, BPTs, junior medical officer and 2 to 3 onsite cardiologists. Cardiology AT is expected to do some on call evenings/ weekends.
- Infectious Diseases – recruited as secondment from Barwon Health. 3 on site infectious diseases physicians.
How to apply
Applications for training positions are made from June to September each year, but applications and queries are welcome outside this window. You will need to supply:
- Resume;
- cover letter outlining your training goals, aspirations and whether you wish to enter training at the RMO or registrar level;
- names of two physician referees who can assess your potential for the program.
Contact
Jolene Preece, Medical administration, jolene.preece@nt.gov.au
Dr Kirsten Neal, Registrar Recruitment, kirsten.neal@nt.gov.au
Dr Sajan Thomas, Director of Physician Education, sajan.thomas@nt.gov.au
Medical Recruitment, Alice Springs, MedicalRecruitmentAsh.THS@nt.gov.au
Alice Springs Hospital (ASH) is seeking a motivated advanced trainee to work as endocrinology registrar in the Department of Medicine. This is accredited as general medicine non-core/ sub-specialty and as non-core endocrinology. You can apply for 6 or 12 months. Can extend to 24 months if dual training in renal or general medicine.
The expanding Endocrinology and Diabetes team at ASH consists of 2 or 3 local endocrinologists and is complemented by four Diabetes Nurse Educators. The high prevalence of diabetes in the local population (up to 40 % of aboriginal adults) provides opportunity to improve your knowledge and management of diabetes.
We also provide a wide range of general endocrinology services, as the only service for over 1600 km. We do not have pituitary surgery or nuclear medicine on site but look after patients before and after these procedures and modalities and work closely with referral centres including Royal Darwin Hospital, Royal Adelaide Hospital and Flinders Medical Centre and participate in regular MDTs. Hospital work involves outpatient clinics (both Diabetes and general Endocrinology), ward consults of often complex patients, and outreach clinics.
The Department of Medicine staff consists of a mix of General Physicians and other Specialists, many with dual training. We have local cardiology, rheumatology, respiratory, infectious diseases, palliative care, alcohol and other drugs, a large renal unit, gastroenterology, rehabilitation and many regular visiting specialists. There is on site general surgery, orthopaedics, obstetrics, gynaecology, psychiatry, paediatrics, day procedures unit and an 11 bed ICU. There are four General Medical teams, a busy Outpatient Department and we provide outreach clinics to some of the most remote parts of Australia.
Essential qualifications
Applicants must be AHPRA-registered and eligible for Advanced Training. The position is accredited for General and Acute Care Medicine and can count towards Endocrine "elective" year. Subspecialty advanced trainees wanting experience in rural general medicine or indigenous health are strongly encouraged to apply.
Contact
Dr Kirsten Neal, Registrar Recruitment, Kirsten.neal@nt.gov.au
Top End
Royal Darwin Hospital (RDH) has the only Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in the Top End of the Northern Territory. It services a population of 180,000 in an area of more than 500,000 square kilometres with 6,200 kilometres of coastline, from East Arnhem to the Kimberley. RDH is the forward receiving hospital for Northern Australia and plays a major role in disaster management in the region through the National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre.
RDH ICU is a mixed Adult/Paediatric Level 3 ICU with 18 beds. In addition to Paediatrics, the case mix includes sepsis, trauma, and neurosurgery. There are 1,200 admissions annually.
The ICU department employs:
- 8 ICU specialists
- 1 ICU Fellows
- 7 ICU Registrars
- 5 ICU RMOs.
Indigenous Australians are one third of the population of the Top End but represent more than 50 per cent of the intensive care patients. Many Indigenous patients come from remote communities. There is a strong emphasis placed on cultural sensitivity in the ICU.
RDH ICU is accredited for general, paediatric (AP12), neurosurgery and trauma training in the new College of Intensive Care Medicine (CICM) curriculum. In addition CICM has recently accredited RDH ICU for a Transition Fellow position.
RDH ICU has cardiac echo qualified ICU specialists on staff, including CICM qualified assessors. The ICU runs an echo training program for registrars and the ability to provide support for higher ultrasound qualifications.
The unit is accredited for 12 months advanced training in the pre-2014 curriculum (C12).
We are an active member of the Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society (ANZICS) Clinical Trials Group with a full time research coordinator and an active research program.
Royal Darwin Hospital and our networked hospitals have a strong basic physician training (BPT) program, covering a huge range of general and specialty rotations as well as preparation for the RACP exams.
Our BPT program is best suited to applicants in their PGY3 or above and can include entry at either the resident medical officer (RMO) or registrar level.
PGY2 applicants should apply to the RMO medical stream where we have 8 positions allocated to ‘pre-BPT’ rotations to prepare trainees for physician training in their PGY3 year.
About the program
Royal Darwin Hospital is a level 3 teaching hospital with Palmerston and Katherine District hospitals acting as secondment sites for core training in general medicine. There is a remote general practice rotation as part of the basic training programme through Gove District Hospital in Nhulunbuy, East Arnhem Land. Trainees thus have the opportunity to work in urban, regional and remote NT. The NT Health is known for its infectious diseases service and many trainees come from around the country and overseas to gain experience in this area in a remote setting close to South East Asia.
Royal Darwin Hospital shares its campus with the Menzies School of Health Research, Flinders NT Medical School and the newly emerging Charles Darwin University medical programme offering the opportunity for our staff to engage in research and teaching.
Rotations and requirements
While psychiatry, paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology rotations may be negotiated from time to time, trainees on the Top End basic physician training scheme will be given a balance of core and non-core training terms over the 36 months of training.
You'll be required to undertake a service term of nights/relieving work within core and non-core requirements, and all trainees need to be able to commit to a non-level 3 training rotation in Palmerston, Gove or Katherine hospitals.
These rotations are an important part of the training program and provide essential skills and experience for providing care to rural and remote living patients.
Specialties and education
The following specialties are covered in the basic physician training program:
- General medicine
- Cardiology
- Renal
- Neurology
- Respiratory
- Medical oncology
- Haematology
- Palliative care
- Gastroenterology
- Alcohol and other drugs
- Infectious diseases
- Intensive care
- Geriatrics
- Gove District Hospital – regional generalist medicine
- Katherine District Hospital – rural general medicine
- Palmerston Regional Hospital - rural general medicine
Each trainee will be expected to do one service term per year which is comprised of a mix of nights and relieving work.
Formal teaching opportunities include:
- Weekly hospital wide grand rounds
- Weekly division of medicine grand rounds
- Weekly basic physician trainee registrar teaching
- Weekly division of medicine journal club
RACP Exam preparation
In preparation for the exams, there is a mock written examination and a formal mock clinical exam provided to all candidates.
The Royal Darwin and Palmerston Hospitals is a clinical exam site for the RACP clinical exam each year.
There is a roster for private and public long cases and short cases during term 2 for all trainees sitting the exam in that year.
How to apply
You can apply to join the basic physician training program between May and August each year, but we also welcome applications at any time outside of that period.
If you're a junior overseas doctor and interested in working with us, we encourage you to reach out to discuss opportunities.
To apply for basic physician training, you'll need to provide a:
- Resume
- cover letter outlining your training goals, aspirations and whether you wish to enter training at the RMO or registrar level; and
- names of 2 physician referees who can assess your potential for the program.
Contact
Recruitment team, DivMedRecruitment.THS@nt.gov.au
Dr Emma Spencer, Director of Physician Education, Emma.Spencer@nt.gov.au
About the program
The Royal Darwin Hospital (RDH) has a strong generalist focus. The general medicine department, which is the largest unit, has about 80-110 inpatients admitted under our service at any given time. GACM advanced trainees have exceptional access to high quality rotations across all the required fields, but especially within the extremely broad and integrated general medicine teams.
Training structure
RDH supports up to 15 GACM advanced trainees, who can be rotated through 7 general medicine rotations, and 9 speciality rotations.
General medicine terms:
- 5 rotations in the general medical teams 1-5.
- 1 rotation seconded to Katherine Hospital.
- Perioperative medicine registrar.
8 rotations are dedicated GACM-trainee allocated subspecialty terms:
- Renal
- Cardiology
- Haematology
- Endocrinology
- Respiratory
- Palliative care
- Neurology
- Rheumatology/immunology
On commencement, trainees are generally offered one specialty and one general medicine term per training year to meet GACM training requirements.
Structure of the general medical service
General Medicine comprises 5 inpatient teams (Med 1-5) staffed by a consultant, advanced trainee registrar, BPT registrar, RMO, and 2 interns, with each team having an average of 15-20 inpatients per day.
The teams follow a ‘take day’ model and are ‘on-take’ on a rolling roster every 5 days.
The average number of patients admitted to the service each on-take day is 15-18.
The rapid response team of the hospital is also the responsibility of the ‘on-take’ team in conjunction with ICU support.
Additionally, each medical team has a geographic region for which it provides an outreach service and has inpatient responsibility.
Each medical team also has its own outpatient clinic, which is attended by both the ward consultant and the advanced trainee.
Specialty terms
Specialty terms are governed by their respective units.
Cardiology, renal, and haematology are predominantly inpatient service models, whereas endocrinology, gastroenterology, respiratory, rheumatology, and neurology are predominantly outpatient-based services, providing a consult service to inpatients.
Most specialty terms have other registrars (advanced trainee and/or BPT) who share the workload.
Katherine Hospital
The GACM service of the Royal Darwin Hospital also provides a seconded general medicine advanced trainee to Katherine Hospital.
Katherine Hospital is staffed by highly dedicated general physicians and has a medical service staffed by BPTs from RDH and up to 2 general medicine advanced trainees.
How to apply
Applications for training positions are made from June to September each year, but applications and queries are welcome outside this window.
Contact
Recruitment team, DivMedRecruitment.THS@nt.gov.au
Dr Kaspar Willson, Head of General Medicine, Kaspar.Willson@nt.gov.au
Why work with us
Haiyun
Doctor, Katherine Hospital
Penny and Kerry
GP, Top End Remote