Select your placement destination!
Queensland
Babinda
Distance from TSV
3-4 hrs
Student Review
However this can be used as a great learning experience as they all have lots of health problems you can learn from!
Placement Experience
- GP
- Gen med
Ward rounds, suturing, venesection, cannulation, cleaning out ears (for wax), punch biopsy, shave biopsy, excisional biopsy.
In 2012 (unsure if accommodation set up is still the same) the accommodation was arranged through JCU. It involved staying in the house of a local paramedic. It was a small house, you had your own bedroom and shared the bathroom and kitchen with the house owner and other medical student on placement.
The facilities were very basic – I think there was internet access. No pool. No gym. The basic necessities. Shared living area with a TV.
I only stayed at this accommodation for one week before staying with family friends in nearby Innisfail. If I had a choice, I would not choose to stay in this accommodation.
8am – 4pm.
The staff were great – the doctors who worked there were a combination of full time and locum doctors. They were all very happy to have us sit in on GP consultations, and proactive with getting us involved.
The practice nurse was very helpful with clinical skills and organised suturing for us with pig trotters. As a second year student this was fantastic!
There is actually a lot to do in this area, and it is close to both Cairns and Innisfail! Highlights include: Babinda Boulders, Josephine Falls, Bramston Beach, Cairns and local attractions.
Nothing! JCU provides a travel subsidy, and the accommodation (from memory) was not charged for. Just need to pay for normal living expenses (ie food).
Attractions around the area. Being able to perform some clinical skills such as suturing – the patients were generally very happy to be interacting with a student.
Teaching
Experience Overall
Bowen
Distance from TSV
2-3 hrs
Student Review
Placement Experience
GP, emergency.
Cannulation, taking blood, history taking, examinations.
Accommodation is 1 min walk to beach, 5 min walk to Woolworths, close to cafes, 10 min drive to hospital. Swimming pool available.
8am – 1pm.
The staff are all approachable and available. Doctors were really engaging and asked lots of questions.
Superboats, Bowen Show, other beaches besides the one close by, markets (down the road from accommodation), Airlie Beach.
$600 (including food and petrol).
Getting to see how transferring patients to tertiary hospitals works from a rural town, seeing medical emergencies get treated in a rural setting.
Teaching
Experience Overall
Charleville
Distance from TSV
11-12 hrs
Student Review
Placement Experience
GP, Theatre, ED, Radiology, Medical Ward, OBGYN
Measuring blood glucose, history taking, cannula insertion, ECG, blood collection, ward rounds everyday with the doctors , discharge summaries , telemedicine, giving injections , plaster foot and leg/arm/hand, pap smears, examine x-rays, triage, wound care , packing wound, CPR, manual disimpaction, removal of stitches, eye examination , taking patients history on their presenting compliant, doctors plan and entering the information EDIS and Medical Director, urine dipstick, HCG tests, neuro exams, mortality & morbidity meetings with doctors, assisting in theatre.
Nursing courters, nice and clean, shared bathroom and kitchen (might not always be clean). Accommodation free. WIFI available and free at accommodation site. 24 hour gym in Charleville, no Cinema.
8-5 pm and sometimes evenings
90% of the staff was approachable. Show that you are a keen student and willing to help out. There are no permanent doctors there but nurses are permenant and they are great. The doctors are very keen to share their knowledge and I only encountered one visiting specialist doctor that I thought was non-approachable.
There is heaps to do and see. Social night was 2/3 times a week. Movies at the doc place, pub or just community events. Charleville has great history, so I did a lot of sightseeing and visiting the Cosmos centre is a must!!
Flight are around $700 but gets reimbursed. Accommodation is free.
Everything! Clinical experience, social life and sight seeing.
Teaching
Experience Overall
Dysart
Distance from TSV
6 hrs
Student Review
Placement Experience
GP, Paediatrics, Ob/Gyn, Mental Health, Anaesthetics
Cannulation, venipuncture, suturing, history taking, immunisation, urinalysis, miner medical testing, baby checks, bandaging, minor procedures (biopsy, nail removal, small excision), home visits.
Accommodation was provided. We stayed in a fully furnished, modern, 3 bedroom house, which was located on the same block as the hospital, and was directly around the corner from the GP. A supermarket was located directly across from the hospital. The town also had a library, bowls club (which also had a full kitchen and provided excellent meals), swimming pool, entertainment hall, and several places of worship. Everything is within easy walking distance.
8-5 pm
Dysart is a small community so the only ethical issues that arose were being aware of patient confidentiality. I did not face any cultural or safety issues.
The staff were all incredibly helpful and willing to teach. Medical staff are limited in Dysart so students are valued as part of the workforce by staff and community members alike.
The Bowls Club was a great place for dinner and socialising. There was also a mining camp in the town, which we had the opportunity to visit, and was incredibly interesting. We attended many social events that were hosted by the schools in Dysart.
$200 (mainly spent on food and travel, accommodation was free)
The clinical experience was second to none. Staff and members of the community were incredibly welcoming and made the entire placement a very enjoyable and educational experience.
Teaching
Experience Overall
Ingham
Distance from TSV
6 hrs
Student Review
Placement Experience (Hospital)
GP, emergency, med wards
Hospital: emergency (suturing, vital signs, venepuncture, cannulation, catheterisation, history taking, X-rays, ECG, medication admin, putting on and removing plaster casts), community midwife consultations, day surgery (endoscopy and gastroscopy), ward rounds, mental health consultations, Aboriginal Health Worker consultations, telehealth consultations (oncology, obstetrics)
GP clinics: mostly observing consultations, but some opportunities for assisting/performing examinations such as vital signs, ear/eye exams, breast exams, pap smears, skin excisions.
Accomodation is a couple of flats with 2 students per flat. Each flat has 2 bedrooms, lounge room with TV and couch, bathroom, kitchen, balcony. Flats are upstairs, with undercover parking beneath. Fairly old and a bit grubby, but has all the basics. Not many kitchen utensils etc. No pool/gym etc. Literally a 2 minute walk from the hospital, although a car is useful for one of the GP clinics (Ingham Family Medical) as its a bit of a walk.
8am – 4pm
Helpful as long as you ask questions and appear interested.
Not much ‘night-life’. We had dinner at one of the GP’s houses, dinner at the Tyto restaurant with the other medical students, and met up at the pub with the interns and medical students. There are a lot of nice camping spots around the area, Wallaman Falls is definitely worth a visit, the Tyto wetlands is nice for walks and bird watching.
About $500 for accommodation
Just spending time with the GPs. I particularly enjoyed looking at the CT scans as we took them as there is a CT machine on site. Also the road trip was a lot of fun. And the patients were all so friendly to interact with.
Placement Experience (GP)
GP, radiology, opthalmology
History taking, suturing, using a retinal photography machine, taking CT scans, dressings, injections
The accomodation was really good, large living area and kitchen. Rooms were really nice too. There was a backyard, and a gym and pool nearby. The accomodation is with other med students so was quite rewarding spending time with peers.
9am – 5pm weekdays
The staff were incredibly friendly and close. Very approachable and invited me to events and dinners.
I went on a road trip with my GP up to Innisfail seeing the sights along the way. There’s a scenic home near Ingham too. And there are a few beaches nearby worth spending the day at. There are several pubs to eat at and socialise in too.
$100
Just spending time with the GPs. I particularly enjoyed looking at the CT scans as we took them as there is a CT machine on site. Also the road trip was a lot of fun. And the patients were all so friendly to interact with.
Teaching
Experience Overall
Mareeba
Placement Experience (Hospital)
Gen Med, O&G, Rehab
Cannulation, attending theatre, ward rounds, performing examinations, suturing, history taking
Good accommodation – big house, lots of room, close to the hospital
8am – 12pm
The staff were keen to teach and very approachable. They loved having students around to help out
Lots to do in nearby towns, markets, creeks and waterfalls, wildlife, bush walks, sight seeing, plenty of good places to eat food and coffee.
$600-700
Getting clinical experience and seeing some more of the country.
Placement Experience (GP)
Rural generalism with focuses on anaesthetics, paediatrics, dermatology, surgery and more. Also was able to experience general practice, midwifery and community health.
Suturing, taking blood, cannulation, history taking, vital signsCannulation, attending theatre, ward rounds, performing examinations, suturing, history taking
Accommodation was JCU organised and costed $80/wk. Linens were provided. The house was 8 bedrooms, walking distance from the hospital. Other JCU students stayed in the house (6th years on their rural term at the time of my placement). The house had fast wifi (eduroam) and is also walking distance from the main town centre, containing shops, fast food stores and more.
We started at 8am every day. We were allowed to choose where to go (e.g. on the wards or to the ED). Evenings or weekends were optional.
The staff were keen to teach and very approachable. – it seemed to be like a small family with each staff member in close communication with another. All of the staff were extremely friendly.
Definitely catch up with other students doing placement in the tablelands (e.g. Atherton which is ~20 min away). Mareeba has a drive-in cinema worth going to. Cairns is ~45 min away and makes a good weekend trip (stay at a backpackers). The stars are amazing at Mareeba, drive a bit out of town and go stargazing, Mareeba is one of the highest elevated towns. There are a nice line of pubs (The Anthill is the most famous) on the main street). Check out the coffee farm. Granite gorge is a nice walk where you can feed rock wallabies.
$320 accommodation. ~$250 groceries. ~$300 leisurely activities.
The best bits were the clinical cases we got to see that we would not have seen anywhere else. Also, being in a rural place for a month with other students, you get really close and make strong friendships!
Teaching
Experience Overall
Mount Isa
- Be more engaging with the doctors in term of seeking for more teaching.
- Rover more area in Mt Isa during the weekend.
Placement Experience (Base-Hospital)
Gen Med
General Medicine ward round opportunities such as examinations and histories, cannulation and bloods rounds, attending radiology teaching sessions and teaching. There were also some simulation sessions run by MICCRH which ranged from snake bites, CPR and airway management.
There are a few options available at Mount Isa for placements at the hospital – all of them are within walking distance but in many cases you will find yourself driving because of the heat. All accommodation has air conditioning, the main set of units (4 separate units joined by a set of stairs) also feature a communal TV room and BBQ with an outdoor picnic table. The other options are three separate houses which have ~4 bedrooms each.
8am – 4pm
Staff were very available. The consultants that ran the general medicine team were more than happy to have you involved in clinics and regularly ran 1 on 1 teaching sessions during these clinics.
If you can manage to take a 4WD I would highly recommend it – from there you just need to ask some locals for a good mud map and you’re set! Otherwise, we spent a lot of time having afternoon BBQ’s and hanging out with other students from the 4 unit accomodation. Lake Moondarra is also a fantastic place to go for a swim and afternoon BBQ.
There are a few options for night life but most of them are inaccesible without a car – especially fun was the live music held somewhat out of town every second Friday. Similarly, the lawn bowls has an all-you-can-eat BBQ every week that costs ~$12 for food and games all night.
$1500
Going 4WD’ing & getting out into the outback of rural QLD. The hospital is very friendly!
Teaching
Experience Overall
Moura
Placement Experience
ED and GP
Suturing, cannulating, blood drawing, performing ECG, independently seeing patients to take history and perform specialized examinations.
Small house with no internet.
In the morning at the clinic.
Dysart is a small community so the only ethical issues that arose were being aware of patient confidentiality. I did not face any cultural or safety issues.
Getting involved in local squash and rugby club. Visiting nearby farm who are friends with practice owner.
N/A
The autonomy I was given with seeing patients and performing examinations. First time suturing on a team mate from the local rugby club.
Teaching
Experience Overall
Proserpine
Placement Experience
Gen Surg, O&G, Mental Health
Attending theatre (day surgeries), cannulation, venepuncture, suturingSuturing, cannulating, blood drawing, performing ECG, independently seeing patients to take history and perform specialized examinations.
At the JCU accommodation (not hospital accommodation) the accommodation was of a very high quality and looked new. The townhouse complex was quiet and a 5 min drive from hospital with one double storey townhouse having 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms. There was also a pool in the complex. The townhouse was fully furnished and had good amounts of cooking equipment (but not much for baking). Eduroam wifi available.
8am – 4.30pm weekdays
Dysart is a small community so the only ethical issues that arose were being aware of patient confidentiality. I did not face any cultural or safety issues.
The staff at the hospital were very friendly and approachable and actively invited us to see and do and get involved in things.
I would recommend if you have a car going and visiting the nearby Airlie Beach area as the things to do in Prosperine itself are limited. The nearby Cedar Creek falls and the Airlie Creek track walk were unexpected highlights.
$320 (accommodation)
Highlights include seeing a number aeromedical retrievals, learning how to do venepunture and cannulate (with the help of the 6th years on rotation there) and getting to know the staff members and community.
Richmond
Placement Experience
Long Term Elderly care, Small ED (1 room)
Lots and lots of suturing! Catheterisation, cannulation, ECG, phlebotomy…
Small self-contained unit with 2 bedrooms, beautiful front porch. WIFI and aircon..
Mornings usually! But generally the GP practice was busy all times of the day. Hospital was fairly quiet usually with maybe 1-2 acute care patients a day.
Ethically was sometimes difficult in a small town when every body you meet and become friends with is a patient! And you really see each patient out in the town numerous times!
Nurses at the hospital were very kind and friendly, the doctor was also fantastic as were the staff at the clinic.
Kronosaurus Korner – local dinosaur and fossil museum! Definitely have a meal or two at the local pub – Mud hut hotel.
N/A
Clinical experience being able to practice suturing a lot and having very fascinating patient histories to discuss. I also had a lot of fun in the community with its many events and friendly people.
Teaching
Experience Overall
Stanthorpe
Placement Experience
O&G, Surgery, Small but busy ED
I was able to scrub into a few surgeries and hold scopes, insert an LMA, insert catheters, insert cannulas, suture, put on a few limb casts, practice charting. Pretty good for a second year placement!
Free accom provided at the nurses quarters onsite.
Staff were very keen to help and very happy for you to get your hands dirty. -They even ran little clinical skills sessions for us during quiet times on topics like: suturing, cannulation, beside ultrasound.
Many wineries and fruit farms in the area to visit. We went to the giant maze and minigold one day and it was a bit of a laugh. Also the weathers nice in summer compared to the rest of Queensland.
N/A
I got to do more than I could’ve hoped.
Teaching
Experience Overall
Thursday Island
Placement Experience
Med, Gen Burg, Emergency, Obstetrics
General ward duties and emergency duties.
Excellent – short bike ride from the hospital.
8am – 4pm weekdays
Very friendly with interesting clinical experiences.
Friday Island pearl farm, fishing and karaoke.
$500
Great clinical case mix. Very social island.
Teaching
Experience Overall
Yeppoon
Capricorn Hospital (Yeppoon)
Cannulation, suturing, history taking, performing examinations, ambulance transfers
Stayed with a nurse from the hospital.
8am – 4pm weekdays
Very, very available and super friendly.
Nightlife is awesome, clubs are so much fun. Awesome beaches in Yeppoon, great bushwalks. Cuppa Cabana – amazing coffee!
$1000
Performing clinical skills, the coffee from Cuppa Cabana and getting to take bloods / suture EVERYDAY!
Teaching
Experience Overall
New South Wales
Cowra - Kendal Street Medical Service
Kendal Street Medical Service
Obstetrics, anaesthetics, Aboriginal health, general surgery, ophthalmology, cardiology, rural generalism
Attending theatre and helping – general surgery, ophthalmology and obstetrics, suturing, vaccination , cannulation , taking bloods – venous and arterial, putting on ECGs, physical examinations, scrubbing, vital signs, ear examinations.
Lived at the Nurses Quarters at Cowra hospital. Accommodation is roughly $80/wk or $20/wk if you’re a student paying rent at another location.
Facilities were great. Internet was provided. Bathroom was very clean. A medical students study room for ANU students but other medical students can use it. Woolworths, Coles and Aldi are close by.
8.30am – 5pm
Staff were always available to help and answer questions. Doctors invited students to registrar training meeting – free lunch. Nurses were the best because they would supervise all the clinical procedures the student tried. The visiting specialists were very keen to teach and let students examine and participate in patient consultations.
Visiting local pubs. Japanese gardens – very beautiful! Wyangala Dam – good for water sports in summer. War museums, farmer’s markets, wine tasting.
$250
Doctors were very nice and very inclusive in what they do. Doctors were very hard working and experienced in what they do. Cowra is a very pretty and relaxing part of NSW. I was able to do a lot of clinical skills and learn ones that I haven’t been taught yet. Met some new friends who were also living at the nurses quarters and on placement from other health areas – speech path, optometry.
Teaching
Experience Overall
Grafton
Directly emailed Hospital Placement Co-ordinator at the time.
Grafton Base Hospital
Emergency, Paediatrics, Surgery, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Pathology, Orthopaedics
Each week I was in a different department so I had many amazing experiences such as taking blood, assisting in surgeries, helping deliver babies, sitting in on a paediatric clinic at the Aboriginal Health Care Centre.
We stayed in the nursing headquarters at the hospital. It was $25 a week (very cheap) and we had a room each with a deck, bed and cupboard, plus a shared kitchen, bathroom and laundry. There was also a pool and you could hire out bikes.
7am – 5pm
Most of the staff were extremely approachable and made sure we felt comfortable. Whilst I was changing departments each week, I got to know many of the staff extremely well which also made it easier to participate in medical procedures etc.
We met a range of students doing many different degrees (physio, nursing etc.) and we interacted a lot with them. In the evenings we would have movie nights and each Wednesday we went to the local pub for trivia night. We also went to the beautiful surrounding beaches on the weekend.
$100 for accommodation, food was more expensive, $200 travel
I didn’t have just one best experience as I enjoyed the whole thing but some highlights include: seeing 4 babies being born in one day, taking blood for the first time, sitting in on paediatric consultations, sitting in with the anaesthesiologists
Grafton Base Hospital
ED, Clinics, Physiotherapy, Sexual Health
Cannulation, suturing, attending theatre, history taking, examination, weekly teachings
Nursing quarters on the same hospital ground (literally 10m walk door to door). I stayed on the top floor (3rd floor) that had been recently refurbished. On our floor we had a kitchenette, dining room, 2 living rooms and shared bathrooms (3 cubicles) and showers (2). Around 8 people to a floor? I went at the end of the year so we only had about 5 people. No charge.
8am-5pm most days
GBH is a teaching hospital for NSW medical students so the staff are all very willing to teach. We had a few locums at the time who were equally new to the hospital, but there were enough residing doctors to put us to work and teach. Great one-on-one anatomy revision in theatre (note: your hand will become a retractor for most operations). We had weekly teaching sessions with more senior students (years 4-6) from UWS, UNSW and a UQ student on the John Flynn Program so the topics tended to be clinical based, but expectations towards us were low (a good thing) and we learnt heaps from the other students. You can stay for as long or short as you want.
Grafton is known as the Jaracanda City. It was classified ‘A’ under JCU at the time I applied because it’s a fairly large town. Having said that, neither I nor the other 2 students with me had cars so we didn’t go anywhere. Coffs Harbour is reasonably close so that might be a nice place to drive to. Our placement was at the end of the year so there was a hospital Christmas Party and we were invited (staff are very nice there) so that was fun. There is also a decently sized shopping centre with Woolworths, Big W, Coles and Target.
Free
The staff and the other students you meet, plus all the learning opportunities. There was absolutely no pressure whatsoever (maybe a little when organising the placement – but day 1 the co-ordinator sits down with you and hands you a personal timetable of where to go, based off the interests you indicate on the application form). Everyone was so friendly, so professional and for those who are not familiar with rural towns, Grafton is the perfect middle ground.
Teaching
Experience Overall
Singleton
Singleton Hospital
GP, rural generalist with O&G, anaesthetics
Cannulation, suturing, attending theatre, GP consultations, social worker home visits, taking vitals, doing obs
The accommodation was clean. 4 bedrooms. However we had to share 2 people to a bedroom. One slept on a mattress while the other slept on the bed. Each room had a large bathroom. There was also a living room, dining room and large kitchen with one fridge. Air conditioned throughout.
8am – 5pm
They were all very helpful and approachable. However, doctors were not easily available at the hospital as the hospital only had 1 on call doctor at a time.
I visited during Christmas time. The Christmas lights in the Hunter Valley is a must see! Very pleasing to the eye. The Hunter Valley wine tasting is also a fun thing to do on the weekends. In terms of night life, there are pubs in town however, they do not stay open until very late.
$10 per night at the accommodation. Approximately $300 for accommodation.
Visiting the GP clinic had to be my best part about the placement. The doctor has built great rapport with all his patients and you can see how much his patients respect and value his time. He also has done a lot for the community in terms of research which was great to hear about. Definitely one of the doctors I would aspire to be like in the future.