Mackay – the regional city that delivers on career and lifestyle

Looking for hands-on, high-impact medicine and a great lifestyle? Mackay may offer more than you expect.

Just ask JCU Head of Mackay Clinical School and long-time local, Associate Professor Elissa Hatherly. What began as a short-term move has turned into a 20-year career built in one place—rich in opportunity, variety, and community.

Relocating from Brisbane after graduating Medicine, Elissa says the initial plan was to move to Mackay for the short term.

“It was much smaller back then, there were just five of us interns. But I knew Mackay was growing economically and I realised working at a smaller hospital allowed me to become better embedded in the community,” she says.

“You do get lost in a big capital city facility where you're one of many, many interns. Mackay was appealing and the intention was to stay for a year or two.

“But the hospital was keen for me to stay, the community had become really familiar and there wasn't anything that I needed to return to Brisbane for. And Mackay has an airport, so you can hop on a plane and go anywhere anytime.”

Two decades on, Mackay is home, it’s a place where Elissa has built a career, a life, and raised her family.

“I've had the privilege of a really varied career with lots of interesting jobs in that time. I haven't done the same job for the 20-something years and that's thanks to being in a small centre. I wouldn't have had that privilege if I'd been in a big city where you're one of many doctors,” she says.

That diversity is a defining feature of regional practice and a major drawcard for junior doctors.

A lifestyle that works as hard as you do

Beyond the hospital, Mackay offers a lifestyle that’s hard to match.

“We have some beautiful beaches and just to our west a pocket of exceptionally diverse rainforest. We have a great cultural scene and the sailing and fishing for people who might want to get out to the islands is fantastic. There's something for everybody,” Elissa says.

It’s also a place where you can build a meaningful career without putting life on hold. For interns and junior doctors, Mackay offers depth, diversity, and responsibility from day one.

What can you expect? Everything from retrieval medicine and complex road trauma to tropical diseases unique to North Queensland, including melioidosis.

“The medicine is incredible. The hospital is very busy, you are going to be hands-on learning under the close supervision of your clinician,” Elissa says.

“Smaller teams means you progress quickly, given extra responsibilities your counterparts in city hospitals wait years for. I was encouraged to take on responsibility that made me really nervous, but the clinicians asked me to take on responsibilities that I was well and truly capable of undertaking, and there’s always someone senior willing to help you. Everyone wants to see you succeed.”

Reflecting on her own career, Elissa is grateful for the opportunities that have come her way in Mackay.

“By luck or good fortune, certainly not by design, I've been able to have that career where I’ve been able to give back. I spend time talking to local charities and community organisations about healthcare and I do a spot on the radio every couple of weeks,” she says.

“I think if you are someone who wants to have a meaningful career that is of impact within your community, as well as professionally fulfilling, then regional practice is something that you should really consider. And if you want to come to Mackay, I'll hook you up with all the people who can help.”

Think broadly when it comes to career options

Elissa encourages interns and junior doctors to keep an open mind when mapping out their medical careers.

“A lot of people come into medical school, into life as a junior doctor with a very fixed profession or career path locked into their brain and then miss the other opportunities that come up,” she says.

“I trained in general practice but I also did work in hospital outpatients departments, seeing cancer patients for many years. I worked in the BreastScreen service for 12 years. I ran a family planning clinic one day a week for 20 years. You don't have to go into a particular subspecialty to have a fulfilling career.

“There are lots of other opportunities to cut and paste within your own profession. If you lock yourself into a profession like obstetrics or surgery, then you really only have the opportunity to pursue that profession.”

For medical students, interns and junior doctors, Mackay offers the rare combination of hands-on clinical experience, career diversity, and a lifestyle that makes staying not just an option, but an easy choice.