Medical Campaign Webinar Series
Watch the series of webinars developed especially for medical students and junior doctors preparing their application to Queensland Health’s Intern or RMO and Registrar Campaigns. The webinars are delivered by expert panels and cover four topics:
- Episode 1: Intern Information Session (2 May)
- Episode 2: RMO and Registrar Information Session (23 May)
- Episode 3: How to negotiate early medical career challenges (30 May)
- Episode 4: Breaking down the barriers to research (13 June)
A network of medical training opportunities
We connect medical students, interns and junior doctors with resources and opportunities to prepare for specialist training and beyond, creating stronger health outcomes in our region.
Dr Tadiwa Mashavave, Junior Doctor, Mackay Base Hospital
“It was during my time at JCU that I decided I wanted to end up somewhere rural or regional and I thought I would be able to gain a lot of hands-on skills in my junior years at a regional hospital like Mackay Base Hospital. It’s been great working with other doctors who are as passionate about rural health and the people it serves.”
Dr Hannah Bennett, Rural Generalist and Pain Specialist, Townsville University Hospital
"As a consultant in Pain Medicine, I have excellent work-life balance. Townsville is a great place to raise a family and there's so much on your doorstep here. It's just an easy life.” Read More
Dr Anthony Brazzale, Cardiologist, Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service
“We have advanced trainees who come from Brisbane and want to come back here now as consultants. They tell us this is one of the best training centres in Australia. The opportunities you get up here, you’ll get nowhere else.” Read MoreKeep up to date with our latest news & events!
Join our mailing list
News Feed
View All
29 August 2023
Help shape our future medical workforce
Each year, James Cook University (JCU) puts the call out for volunteers from a variety of backgrounds to play an important role in the selection process for JCU’s highly regarded Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS). The selection process is a rigorous one, with the university receiving upwards of 4,000 applications for the course annually. From this pool, around 650 will be invited to attend an interview with a panel. And that’s where you can help. The panel is generally made up of one healthcare professional, a representative from JCU and a member of the community. JCU is looking for more volunteers across the board to help select the 2024 first-year medicine cohort. As current and past volunteers will tell you, being part of the process is very rewarding. With guidance from the JCU Medicine Selections team, volunteers are well supported as they take on the important task of helping select a student cohort that is values-aligned with JCU’s commitment to rural health, and passionate about working in underserved communities. As we approach recruitment for our 2024 intake, we spoke to two of our volunteer doctors who have enjoyed volunteering on the medical selection panel for many years.
Read More
25 July 2023
Making a difference on the path less travelled
When it comes to medical pathways, Dr Mikaela Seymour has taken the road less travelled. Graduating medical school with surgical aspirations, Dr Seymour says she eventually realised the hospital pathway was not for her. Instead, she was drawn to practise medicine in one of the most disadvantaged parts of the world. “I'm one of those creative careers doctors you've probably heard of. I've certainly had an unconventional pathway,” Dr Seymour says in her keynote address at the 2023 AMAQ Junior Doctor Conference. Dr Seymour says her interest in developing world medicine started with a final year elective to undertake tropical medicine in the Western Province, Papua New Guinea district hospital. “I gained my general medical registration in Papa New Guinea and Australia simultaneously. I was this medical Batman, living dual identities in two different worlds,” she says. “Whilst I was here in Australia, I was assisting in advanced surgeries working in perfectly sterile theatres, with supply cupboards full of various types of sutures, dressings, and every sort of equipment that you can imagine, by comparison, my reality in Papua New Guinea was very different.” She cites findings from the Independent State of PNG Health System report, published in 2019, which found only 40 per cent of health facilities have a form of electrification, 55 per cent have any access to water, and only 33 per cent can transfer a sick patient to a higher level of care. Dr Seymour says that maternal mortality rates were approximately 43 times higher in PNG compared to Australia. “Another example in Australia that we take for granted is the absence of vaccine-preventable illness, and obviously, as a public health registrar, that's something very close to my heart. But again, these circumstances are very different in our immediate region,” she says.
Read More
18 July 2023
How attending the RANZCP Congress will be of benefit for working rurally
Jo Kaczmarek is a final-year JCU medical student who attended the RANZCP 2023 Congress during her Rural Internship rotation. She recently shared her experience from the congress and why the 2024 event will be a must-attend for rural GPs interested in mental health. If you’re a rural doctor with Advanced Skills Training (AST) in mental health, it’s a no-brainer! You should go to the Royal Australian & New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) Congress to keep current, meet like-minded colleagues from across Australia and NZ, and network with Psychiatrists (who are a very social bunch by the way!). Next year’s Congress will be on Ngunnawal land (Canberra) from 19-24 May 2024 and it coincides with the 60th anniversary of the very first Congress, so it’s shaping up to be huge! This blog is for the rest of you rural doctors out there – let me try to convince you why the Congress is beneficial for you to attend!
Read More
1 June 2023
Tropical paradise the right fit for new intern
When it was time set down roots after graduation, Cairns local Dr Georgia Krause had no desire to look too far afield. The JCU graduate is one of Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service’s newest doctors, currently undertaking her general medicine rotation and loving life in picturesque Far North Queensland. For Dr Krause, medicine and nature intersect, with the Cairns region proving the ideal playground to explore this holistic side of practice as she traverses her career working to heal both people and the planet. But it’s not just the natural beauty of the tropical north that Dr Krause finds endearing. She said the close ties and integrity of the humans in this region continues to impress. “In places like Mossman and the Daintree I’ve seen first-hand how stoic the locals are and just how strong the sense of community is here. “I think that is important to many but I recognize this is particularly important to me, it forms a sense of fulfillment, purpose and belonging and that’s what I want in my career long term,” she says. “I loved being in Mossman for that reason, the people get to know you by first name. You'd see them at the local market, grocery store and on the cable ferry that carries you across the Daintree River, and they always greet you with a smile, I want to live and work somewhere where that is possible. “I see myself living and working in the Mossman or wider Cape York Peninsula area, because I feel very deeply connected to this community and to give back through my profession would be extremely rewarding.”
Read MoreThe NQRTH medical training network:
NQRTH is an initiative of the Australian Government's Integrated Rural Training Pipeline (IRTP) and is facilitated by James Cook University in partnership with public and private hospitals, Queensland Aboriginal and Islander Health Council (QAIHC), health services, Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs) and GP clinics.
Cairns region
(07) 4226 8187
Central West region
(07) 4764 1547
Mackay region
(07) 4885 7122
North West region
(07) 4764 1547
Torres and Cape region
(07) 4095 6103
Townsville region
(07) 4781 3424