Alice Springs Hospital

Location:
Gap Road Town Centre Alice Springs

Category:
Medical Student and GPR
NTGPE facilitates placements for NTGPE Students and GP Registrars, in hospitals through our relationships with NT Department of Health and Community Services.

Please note we are not responsible for co-ordination of training placements at Alice Springs District Hospital.

For Student placements at Alice Springs District Hospital please contact the NT Clinical School. For GP Registrar placements at Alice Springs District Hospital please contact Alice Springs District Hospital - see contact details.

Description:
The Alice Springs Hospital has 180 beds and accepts medical, surgical, paediatric and obstetric patients from an area several thousand square kilometres in size, taking in the western part of Queensland, the north of South Australia, a large area of central Western Australia and the southern half of the Northern Territory. The main hospital buildings are modern, erected in 1978, with the original hospital buildings now used as outpatient areas. There are fifteen permanent specialist staff based at the hospital, with about twelve registrar posts in the various specialties. Accommodation on-campus is supplied for resident medical officers, including married quarters and a swimming pool and tennis courts are available. The Hospital has recently been undergoing major redevelopments, which opened in 2002.

Training Details:
Sixteen resident medical officer positions are available each year in the areas of medicine, surgery, paediatrics, gynaecology and obstetrics [accredited for Diploma RACOG training], Accident and Emergency, psychiatry and rotating to cover Tennant Creek Hospital. All positions are recognised training positions for the RACGP Training Program of SA. Procedural training in areas of A&E, surgery, paediatrics etc is fairly comprehensive. Unlike the larger city hospitals where Registrar registrars queue up to do all the hands-on work, there is plenty for everyone to do.

Medical Education at Alice Springs Hospital

Alice Springs Hospital has a commitment to Clinical Training and has been accredited by the Postgraduate Medical Council for intern and RMO placements. At registrar level, both local and rotating trainees fill positions, with some disciplines accredited as full training posts by their appropriate colleges.

Alice Springs Hospital has good facilities for a regional centre. The library is excellent, with a comprehensive reference section, good selection of journals, medline search facilities and librarians on site. There is computer access available, and the Clinical Training Office has a digital camera, laptop and digital projector available for educational sessions and recording of important clinical material. The education programme is based around departmental teaching sessions (tutorials, ward rounds, journal club and X-ray meetings) with two communal meetings each week. The ‘Wednesday Lunchtime’ is primarily for junior doctor teaching, whilst the hospital ‘Grand Round’ on Friday lunchtime is a more general session, with speakers invited from both inside and outside the hospital. Visiting sub-specialists frequently contribute to these meetings. Staff can also access information available to the satellite broadcasts organised by the Rural Health Satellite Network. These are usually fortnightly. While formal teaching is promoted, one of the major benefits of working at Alice Springs Hospital is the wealth of clinical experience that can be gained. Junior doctors frequently give feedback that their exposure to a variety of medical conditions and the opportunity to be much more ‘hands on’ than in a major centre is a highlight of their time here. For those interested in indigenous health, infectious disease, and rural and remote medicine in Australia or overseas, or just an opportunity to improve their clinical skills, Alice Springs Hospital is an excellent place to gain valuable experience within a supportive environment.

Hospital terms:
Medicine, Surgery, Obstetrics, Paediatrics, Emergency,
Anaesthetics Advanced Rural Skills: Surgery, Anaesthetics.

Contact Details
Pat Litvenskey
Recruitment at Alice Springs Hospital
PO Box 2234
Alice Springs NT 0871
Phone: 08 8951 7777 Fax: 08 8951 7988

Links:

Alice Springs Hospital Website
Department of Health & Community Services Website

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