Rehabilitation Medicine Registrar
Description
The Royal Darwin Hospital is a busy teaching hospital with 635 beds and provides medical and surgical services to the people of the Northern Territory. It is located in a tropical climate which makes it an ideal place to work for doctors who enjoy outdoor activities and exploring new places.
There are many local attractions in Darwin such as Mindil Beach Markets, Crocosaurus Cove, Wave Pool and Water Slide World. Restaurants range from fine dining to casual cafes offering international cuisine. Outdoor activities include fishing, hiking, biking and swimming. And if you're looking for a change of pace, there are several stunning accessible natural monuments, including Uluru (Ayers Rock).
Tourist locations nearby include Kakadu National Park, Litchfield National Park & Katherine Gorge. The Royal Darwin Hospital is an excellent facility where locum doctors can gain valuable experience while enjoying all that this unique region has to offer.
So if you're thinking about applying for a locum position at the Royal Darwin Hospital, don't hesitate - it really is an incredible place to work!
Location
Reviews
2024
Great emergency department to work in. Lots of senior support during day and overnight. Interesting cases and generally everyone very friendly. Would definitely recommend to other locums. I didnt have much ED experience and felt well supported. IT systems + documentation is a bit slow and can be pretty tedious. Accommodation- hospital accomm is apparently not great, I was put up in Club Tropical which was amazing- clean modern and has a pool. Outside of work- recommend coffee & croissants at Ruby G's, Nightcliff beach for a dip or sunbathe, Nightcliff pool for some laps and obviously road trips out to Litchfield and Kakadu on time off!
2024
Overall I loved my experience in Darwin ED as an SRMO. I was working there for 6 months. The patients were very interesting and complex- lots of tropical medicine, meliodosis, TB, trauma, domestic violence. During my time here I felt like I did not have the opportunity to get hands-on procedural skills comparitively to other hospitals I have worked in. It was very supportive and EXPECTED that you run past every patient with a registrar or consultant. The paper/ online system was challenging to get used to, during my time they upgraded to a new system (Acacia) that staff did not like using, and preferred the old system (Jadecare). I believe they are trying to reintroduce Acacia. On nights its often 3-4 registrars, 3-4 RMOs. They can be a bit funny with being peoples references and the department have stated that they need to see you work for 6 months prior to being a reference (Just FYI for job application season). My time in Darwin was lots of fun (especially in the dry season) as there were a lot of events and festivals to go to. It was easy to travel to places during my time off and managed to get to litchfield, kakadu, katherine, kununurra. I was placed in an airbnb for the first 3 months in Nightcliff that was absolutely stunning, then moved as I carried on my stay to Brinkin in a 3 bedroom place with a pool! RDH also covered a car for me. Overall, I loved my time here and felt that it improved my skills as a clinician with so much complex medicine.
2024
Overall this placement was fantastic. It’s a busy department but has a good amount of staff on to share the load. The work and pathology is extremely interesting and rewarding, and unlike most other experience you could get in other Australian health systems. The hospital uses paper for ward notes which was a downside for me but if you’ve not worked with that before, you do get used to it quickly. Electronic med charts/ discharge summaries/ op reports/ pathology and radiology reports. You will be working under registrars mostly, closely supervised by consultants and all regs and consultants are highly approachable at any time and very helpful and kind. Lots of opportunities for emergency theatre cases, doing your own assessments and examinations on patients, learning how to do implanons if you want to etc. The hospital accommodation is a little bit average - older facilities, no opening windows, have to clean it yourself and borrow equipment to do this - but it does have all the basic supplies you need which hotels/airbnbs sometimes don’t, and it’s nice and convenient to be 5 mins walk from work, plus there’s a great pool and a tiny little gym which has insanely cheap membership (like $50 for 3 months). The department doesn’t pay for a car but go Locum helped me to arrange one outside of this. Darwin is overall an incredible place, amazing markets, food, people, nightlife, national parks, walks close to town, I’d definitely recommend this placement to others!!
2024
Very supportive registrars and interesting medicine made this placement great. It was initially slightly confusing using paper medication charts and online notes in ED and then using online medication charts and paper notes on the ward - however everyone was happy to help me out when needed. Darwin has a friendly, supportive culture which I would definitely recommend.
2024
A really well supported job, lots of seniors around to ask advice and they all encourage you to discuss every patient with them. Quite a lot of learning opportunities - interesting medicine, can get involved in practical backslab/ suturing/ wound wash out etc. As a locum RMO, you generally are not allocated many resus shifts, but if you're proactive you can definitely get more involved. It is a busy department and it is a busy job, but a really nice team to work with and I have enjoyed it. Favourite out of work activity is visiting the national parks (Litchfield/ Kakdu) and the markets in Darwin.
2024
A busy emergency department with a lot of interesting pathology. Generally well supported with lots of engaged consultants and competent senior registrars. Often understaffed and frequently overwhelmed with quiet shifts a rarity. Plenty of opportunities to manage critically unwell patients and get involved with resuscitations, even as a locum. On a day shift, you will often be the only registrar in majors. As a registrar (easily identifiable by a black stripe on your scrubs), you will need to review every ECG and VBG that gets done, and RAT all the category 2 patients who come in. This can mean you sometimes feel like you are under siege, but is also good practice for prioritisation. The systems are pretty archaic, but not too complicated and easy to get the hang of. There is an excellent culture of the consultants buying coffee for the juniors most shifts, which they are happy for you to drink on the floor. The department itself is woefully inadequate in terms of physical space, and their solution to this is to double bunk every bed in majors. This can feel uncomfortable, as there is very little privacy for the patients. Even with 28 double bunked majors beds, they still sometimes run out of space. There are four mains areas you might be asked to work in - Majors, Paeds, Fast track, EEMU. The accommodation that we stayed in was great (club tropical). The town of Darwin is big enough that there is generally stuff to do, however when we were there the weather was pretty unbearable (during the "build up" from Sept - November). The best bit is the brand new pool at Casuarina, where we spent a lot of time, as it's too hot to do anything else. Overall I enjoyed my time in Darwin ED. It is not the easiest job in the world, however I often enjoyed it, and I definitely learned a lot.
2024
I worked in the Royal Darwin ED for 3 months as a resident with only about 3 months of prior ED experience. A busy ED that works you hard but with supportive and friendly registrars and consultants that make it a positive experience. I grew a lot as a doctor in my 3 months here. Very few negative interactions with other staff. The ED runs well. Computer system works better than many others I've used. Doctors are given a different colour/pattern of scrubs to wear depending on their level which makes it easy for everyone to identify each other. Hospital accomodation has access to a pool and squash courts. For $50 you get 6 months access to the small but well-equipped staff gym. A great job, would recommend.
2024
In general a very good experience. Very interesting ED case mix with relatively high acuity and good Resus exposure as an SRMO once the consultants and registrars have established your level. Good FACEM support. The hybrid paper-digital system is quite antiquated and takes some getting used to. The accomodation left a lot to be desired - an old studio with no wifi and an outdoor laundry that lacked privacy and inadequate ventilation in the bathroom. It can be quite isolating given the sometimes extreme weather and the distance from the hospital to the centre of town. There is also no lock or gate to stop anyone accessing the staff accomodation - and I had laundry powder stolen from outside my front door. That said, it was easy to get to work and the included pool access was nice. Would definitely recommend hiring a car or bike for a protracted stay. All in all, would definitely recommend RDH as an opportunity to experience Darwin and medicine in the top end. You may want to outlay some of your earnings on nicer accommodation or a car if you want to live more comfortably while you are there!
2022
I worked in ED and found it to be a very supportive environment (standard set up of FACEMs/accredited registrars) with great registrars on over night. It was busy and there was a broad range of presentations including a lot of domestic violence/assault, trauma and infectious disease. There is often double bunking of patients (two patients in one ED bay) which can be a little awkward to manage, but I felt that there was a manageable patient :doctor ratio most of the time compared to other hospitals I’ve worked at. The accommodation is on site and is pretty basic, the windows don’t open but there is air con, a studio-style kitchen, and there’s an outdoor pool.
2024
Overall this was an amazing placement even if it was extremely hard work and thoroughly exhausting. Darwin is a beautiful place and visiting Darwin is what makes this placement, not necessarily just the hospital. Context: ED RMO Workload: As an RMO you're working hard and it is a very busy department (constant Code Yellow), but you're very well supported. Always have multiple consultants during the day, and there is loads of registrars around. Overnight there is 3 registrars on so there's plenty of senior help easily accessible even if the TL reg is dealing with resus. Case demographic: Extremely complex presentations with not only advanced disease, tropical medicine, homelessness (12x the rate of anywhere else in Aus), assaults, trauma, Aboriginal health and unfortunately lots of domestic violence. By far the most challenging medicine I have ever had to do in Australia but it's worth it. Just be well prepared for what you will have to manage. Daily workflow is the same as any other ED, with a largely paper-based system. The status board is digital, but all notes are paper based, pathology and radiology is digital. Most people type their notes onto a template on the computer and print it out, so it's less laborious. Accommodation is N/a for me since I stayed with friends and family here. There should be plenty of other comments on accom but as long as you're off-site, it's fine. RDH ED covered a hire car for me also which was great. I would recommend this role to other RMOs short term. 3-6 months is ideal and by the end of it, you're exhausted from all the hard work. Favourite non-clinical thing about the placement is all the awesome activities in Darwin, the walking, fishing, camping and all of the delicious food at the markets!!
2024
Darwin ED is a really well supported emergency department - both for RMo's and Junior Registrars. I have now worked in both positions. Majority of the consultants are excellent and lovely people to work with. As a registrar - you are expected to manage patients/sections of ED and juniors (RMOs and interns) will discuss plans with you. During the day there will always be a FACEM / senior reg to ask if you are unsure. At night- there will always be at least 1 senior reg in the department but you are expected to run either the fast track/paeds section or short stay section (with the help of an RMO). The RMO role is incredibly well supported - you are expected to run all your plans past someone senior. Everyone complains about the IT/ notes system - it is very old school and frustrating to use at first - but you do get used to it (exactly the same system as in Alice Springs). I have loved living in Darin - we were there during the dry and start of wet season. I enjoyed both, but I'm glad I went to the national parks/ water holes in the dry. Favourite cafe - for the view: de la plage, for the coffee/ vibe: laneways in Parap
Feb 3 to Mar 28