Apply for an internship with us
Choose CQ Health as your top preference and let us support the next step in your medical career.
Find application dates and information about the recruitment and selection process on the Queensland Health website.
Rotations and specialty areas
Imagine your medical internship spanning across hospitals in Rockhampton, Gladstone, Yeppoon hospitals, and GP practices in Theodore and Emerald.
Here in Central Queensland, you won’t just do core terms in surgery, general and emergency medicine. You may also experience:
- orthopaedics
- geriatrics and rehabilitation
- palliative care
- mental health
- paediatrics
- cardiology
- renal medicine
- obstetrics and gynaecology
- community health
- rural general practice.
Benefits of being our intern
Orientation
At CQ Health, your medical internship begins with a comprehensive 2-week orientation program. This includes an orientation weekend to help you connect with your peers and introduce you to our beautiful region.
Community
Join a peer-led support group to connect with a community of doctors in training. They'll help you settle into the region, discuss challenges, and explore opportunities for personal and professional growth. Speaking of community, by joining our team you’ll see the impact you’re having in real life! You might meet patients and their families at local events or shops. They often thank you for the care you provided.
Training
Our team of experienced medical staff is here to help teach, assist and mentor you.
Unlike in metropolitan areas, you won’t be competing with your peers for guidance and support. Our smaller internship program (37 positions) means our experienced doctors know you, and care about your career.
You'll have access to:
- protected weekly teaching sessions tailored to your rotations
- department and specialty-specific training
- research opportunities through the University of Queensland and CQUniversity.
- structured career pathway planning
- peer to peer mentoring
- courses in advanced life support, neoResus, paediatric ALS, ultrasound-guided cannulation, and communication and patient safety.
Our excellent training speaks for itself. Two of our trainees received the top score on the national entrance exams for both intensive care and obstetrics and gynaecology in the last few years.
Support for moving to Central Queensland
If you're relocating, we may be able to help you with accommodation and costs including:
- four weeks shared accommodation on arrival
- reimbursing the costs of domestic flights
- contributing towards other travel and relocation costs.
If you need a working visa, you'll need to apply for a Temporary Graduate visa (Subclass 485).
Find out about our other workplace benefits including remuneration, salary packaging and flexible work arrangements.
[Text on screen: Rockhampton, Queensland]
>>Michael:
I really love Rockhampton as a community because it's a smaller regional tight-knit community. It does have that community feel. It's a great place for our kids to grow up.
>>Sikta:
I like to make sure that I'm staying healthy and fit. I love nature and I like the river, so I like to, you
know, go around and venture off. Yeppoon is a close drive-by.
>>Huissan:
Here you actually matter, you're not just another number. You get to actually see your impact out in
the community often. Because it's so tight-knit everyone sort of acts like a family and the workplace benefits from that sort of environment.
>>Sahand:
You can actually practice medicine as a doctor during your intern year.
>> Marta:
You really feel that the experience you get here will make you a better doctor moving on in the future.
>>Michael:
it's a tight-knit close medical community. A lot of positive feedback and there's only positive benefits to your training from that.
>>Vishal
In rockhampton I would say you can love what you do and you can do what you love.
[Text on screen: The University of Queensland Australia. Create change. Find out more at rcs.medicine.uq.edu.au/regional-training-hubs]
Hear from our team
Dr Nathan
Dr Nathan came to us as an intern in 2022. He is completing his advanced skill training year in anaesthetics at Rockhampton Hospital on the Rural Generalist pathway.
He has already secured a job for next year working half and half between Anaesthetics in Rocky and at Capricorn Coast Hospital.
He says the exposure to patients and cases is one of the best things about working in a regional centre like Rockhampton.
“You get to learn more here than in Brisbane. The Anaesthetic Department is a supportive learning environment.”
Another big plus is being able to choose rotations.
“I essentially got every term I wanted in the past three years. Consider coming to Rocky because of the ability you get onto training early and get the jobs you want rather than delaying for years.”
Dr Viveeka
Originally from Canada, Dr Viveeka came to Rockhampton as a medical student. She completed her intern year and is currently working in anaesthetics on rotation.
“There’s lots of hands-on experience. As a medical student I did lots of cannulas and was never afraid to do a night ward call because I had already had plenty of supervised practice.”
Dr Viveeka says she did arterial blood gas tests, a chest drain, a lumbar puncture and lots of intubations – all skills that she would not have been exposed to so early in her career in a big city hospital.
“You have more one-on-one interactions with consultants and registrars, and they give a lot of assurance and ensure you are well trained for when you are on your own.
“I also help to run surgical lists with the consultants which is amazing. In the city you’re competing with more senior doctors, but in regional areas like Rockhampton the consultants know you by your first name."
Dr Shaheel
Dr Shaheel is from Sri Lanka and came to Rockhampton Hospital to do his intern year in 2021. He loves it, and he’s still here, working in the Surgical Department.
“As a doctor-in-training I get much more exposure to hands-on procedures. I get to excise skin lesions, do open hernia repairs, laparoscopic surgery, and assist in surgeries. I’ve done more than 10 appendectomies, and I treat abscesses.”
“It’s improved the way I see patients, I work more efficiently, and my skills are growing, and you get so much more confidence in the operating theatre.”
“You won’t get that in a big city where there are fellows and registrars all competing for cases. In a tertiary centre you would only be doing paperwork in the beginning.”
Outside of work he’s made a lot of friends in the community. “I am a member of the Rockhampton Tamil Cricket Team. There are a lot of Sri Lankans and Indians in the community – that’s also keeping me here.”
Information sessions
You can join one of our intern information sessions at Rockhampton Hospital.
For more information email the Medical Education Unit at MEU_Rockhampton@health.qld.gov.au or call 07 4920 6332.
Contact us
Contact our recruitment team for general enquiries:
- Phone 07 4920 6229
- Email CQHHS_JMORecruit@health.qld.gov.au.