Employment

Intern recruitment

Queensland Health coordinates an annual campaign to recruit interns for positions in hospital and health services across the state.

There is only one method of application for the intern campaign – the lodgement of an online form via a central application portal, which opens for a minimum of two weeks each year (usually early March for rural generalist intern positions and May for general intern positions).

Hospitals accredited to deliver intern training participate in the annual campaign and medical graduates can assign a preference to all participating hospitals
from highest to lowest (number 1 being the applicant’s most preferred hospital).

From the applications received via the intern campaign, applicants are either directly allocated to an intern position (Applicant Group A i.e. those guaranteed an offer) or will participate in a merit selection process conducted by participating hospitals with remaining intern vacancies (Applicant Groups B-D).

Visit the Queensland Health Intern Campaign website to access the application portal and for further information, including an explanation of application groups and eligibility criteria, key campaign dates and intern recruitment contacts.

RMO & Registrar recruitment

Queensland Health facilitates an annual campaign to recruit resident medical officers (RMOs) and registrars for positions in Hospital and Health Services (HHS) across the state.

Each year, all participating Queensland Health facilities, Greenslopes Private Hospital, Mater Health Service and vocational training programs provide the RMO campaign with a list of available positions for the next clinical year (commencing January/February the following year).

Positions recruited via the RMO & Registrar campaign include accredited and non-accredited registrars, principal house officers (PHO), senior house officers (SHO) and junior house officers (JHO), with applicants able to nominate their preferred position level, facility, specialty and sub-specialty.

From their pool of applicants received via the campaign, specialist medical colleges, Queensland Health facilities, vocational training pathways, networks and central allocation programs run their own meritorious recruitment processes.

IMPORTANT: Individuals accepted on a College training program must apply annually for a position via the RMO & Registrar campaign to secure a contract of employment.

Visit the Queensland Health RMO and Registrar campaign website to access the application portal and for further information, including key campaign dates, a list of available positions and specialty training preference guides.

Senior Medical Officer Recruitment

Queensland Health offers a range of flexible, rewarding employment opportunities for senior medical officers.

There is no centralised recruitment for senior medical officer (SMO) positions. Recruitment is coordinated by individual hospital and health services as vacancies arise. Positions may be advertised on various media:

Senior medical officers may also contact hospital and health services directly to enquire about current or anticipated vacancies.

Remuneration is negotiated with the individual employer (usually a hospital and health service) and is calculated based on the Queensland Health wage rates, entitlements and allowances particular to the position. Relocation assistance may be negotiated.

Senior medical officers must be credentialed and have a defined scope of clinical practice to support the delivery of safe and high-quality health care within Queensland Hospital and Health Services.

In Queensland, senior medical officers work in a range of roles, including:

Staff Specialist Medical practitioners with a recognised specialist qualification.
Career Hospital Doctor Not qualified in a specialty but working in a specialty under the supervision of a specialist.
Medical Superintendent / Medical Officer with Private Practice Senior medical practitioners who work in smaller rural hospitals, providing services to the hospital as well as private general practice services in the town.
Rural Generalist Rural medical practitioners who provide:

  • hospital and community-based primary medical practice;
  • hospital-based secondary medical practice (including emergency inpatient care);
  • advanced specialist skills in at least one discipline (e.g. emergency, anaesthetics, obstetrics);
  • hospital and community-based public health practice.
Visiting Medical Officer Specialists with their own private practice, or general practitioners who choose to consult within public and private hospitals on a part-time basis.

Further information

Medical recruitment in Queensland Health
Queensland Health job search
Medical Practitioner Remuneration
Credentialing and scope of clinical practice Health Service Directive

Specialty

Specialist medical college / Professional association

Anaesthetics Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists
Australian Society of Anaesthetists
Pain Medicine ANZCA Faculty of Pain Medicine
The Australian Pain Society
Dermatology Australasian College of Dermatologists
Emergency Medicine Australasian College of Emergency Medicine
General Practice Royal Australian College of General Practitioners
Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine
Rural Doctors Association of Australia
Intensive Care Medicine College of Intensive Care Medicine
Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society
Medical Administration Royal Australasian College of Medical Administration
Medicine Royal Australasian College of Physicians
Physician Specialty Societies
Obstetrics and Gynaecology Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
Ophthalmology Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists
Australian Society of Ophthalmology
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons
Australian and New Zealand Asssociation of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
Pathology Royal College of Pathologists of Australia
Psychiatry Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists
Radiology Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists
Sport and Exercise Medicine Australian College of Sport and Exercise Physicians
Sports Medicine Australia
Surgery Royal Australasian College of Surgeons
Australian and New Zealand Society of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgeons
General Surgeons Australia
Neurosurgical Society of Australasia
Australian Orthopaedic Association
Australian Society of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery
Australian and New Zealand Association of Paediatric Surgeons
Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons
Urological Society of Australia and New Zealand
Australian and New Zealand Society for Vascular Surgery

Queensland Health as an employer

Sixteen individual statutory authorities, called Hospital and Health Services (HHS), provide public health services in Queensland and are the primary employers of medical practitioners in Queensland across the spectrum of major metropolitan cities, thriving regional centres and relaxed rural communities.

Choose to work in a location that not only suits your career, but your lifestyle and your well-being.

What sets Queensland Health apart?

  • Diversity in facility size and service profile
  • Competitive remuneration packages
  • Generous employer superannuation contributions, benefits and incentives
  • Exciting career pathways and employment opportunities
  • Diverse work culture and environment
  • Support for professional development and capability building

Find more information about employment in Queensland health facilities

Rural, regional and remote medical careers

A career in rural, regional and remote medicine gives you the opportunity to join a team of like-minded professionals who are building communities, broadening their experiences and helping transform people’s lives for the better.

You will be supported to work at the top of your clinical scope and across disciplines, with access to professional development opportunities, allowing you to increase your knowledge and expand your skill set.

The communities will help you grow, connect, learn and create life-defining experiences that will shape who you are as a medical professional and also as a person.

Find out more about rural medical career opportunities in Queensland.

Medical Education

Medical Education Units support the education, training and wellbeing of junior doctors. They are responsible for ensuring intern education and training programs are compliant with the Australian Medical Council National Framework for Medical Internship and that junior doctors receive the orientation, supervision, formal and informal education, feedback and assessment required to support their ongoing development and safe patient care.

N.B The Australian Medical Council (AMC) has developed a new, two-year framework for prevocational (PGY1 and PGY2) medical training, with new requirements to be implemented from 2024 for PGY1 and 2025 for PGY2.

In addition Medical Education Unit’s provide advocacy, support and counselling (personal, professional and career) to junior doctors.

Most Medical Education Units include a Director of Clinical Training (DCT) and a Medical Education Officer (MEO). The DCT provides educational leadership and acts as an advocate for medical education. The DCT works closely with hospital executives and senior and junior medical officers involved in the education and training of junior medical officers to support the delivery of quality supervision, education and training. Support is also provided by way of mentorship, counselling, advocacy and advice to junior medical officers.

The MEO provides educational expertise in the development, delivery, evaluation and ongoing improvement of junior doctor education and training programs and will work closely with the DCT and others involved in junior doctor education and training. The MEO plays a pivotal role in supporting junior doctor wellbeing and advocacy.

Wellbeing

Queensland Health recognises that medical training is demanding and is committed to supporting the physical and mental health and wellbeing of medical practitioners across the organisation.

Since 2017, the Department of Health has ensured that all medical interns are provided the opportunity to participate in specific wellbeing training.

In 2023, the Department of Health and Mater Education Limited have partnered to deliver Mind(re)set, an online wellbeing education and training program.

Mind(re)set is an interactive, voluntary, self-paced program designed to help the junior doctor workforce learn methods and strategies for proactively supporting their mental health and wellbeing. The program aims to provide users the ability to reflect on their own experiences and learning to help them identify anticipated challenges and equip themselves with the tools and knowledge to manage stressors, with module topics including managing workload, practicing self-care at work, and thriving in a post-Covid world.

With the first half of the Mind(re)set program available from February 2023 for all junior doctors in postgraduate years one to five across Queensland, further modules are under development for later release. Future modules will cover topics including managing stress, career development and professional wellbeing, and wellbeing for junior doctors in the hospital environment. A module covering wellbeing training for supervisors is also proposed for a later iteration of the program. As a new product we welcome and invite input from Junior Medical staff on the product and its application.

In November 2022, Queensland Health convened a Health Professionals’ Mental Health and Wellbeing Summit, intended as one in a series of proactive wellbeing discussions, to consider key issues affecting the health and wellbeing of the workforce and collaboratively generate ideas for positive change. Priority themes identified at the Summit will inform workforce strategy and guide the principles underpinning a Queensland Health wellbeing framework to be developed in 2023.

Queensland Health also convenes a Wellbeing Working Group, chaired by the Chief Psychiatrist, with membership including representatives from hospital and health services, junior doctor and medical student advocacy groups and external organisations. The group’s focus is identifying strategies and initiatives to prioritise and promote the mental health and wellbeing of Queensland medical practitioners and students.

All Queensland Health employees can access a consolidated hub of information and resources related to the five dimensions of wellbeing: mental, social, financial, physical and workplace on the Employee Wellbeing page on the Queensland Health intranet site. Specific resources relating to COVID-19 and wellbeing were also made available to staff during the pandemic response.

Hospital and health services across Queensland also work proactively to ensure the ongoing wellbeing of medical practitioners and students through the development of local strategies and initiatives, or the engagement of specific Wellbeing Officers to support the workforce.

Employee Assistance Services (EAS) provide all Queensland Health staff with resources including counselling and coaching, crisis response services and manager assistance. EAS will also assist with immediate strategies and referral to ongoing support pathways for longer term issues.

Links to these and a range of other resources and organisations that provide support can be found in the Orientation Resource for junior doctors in Queensland.

Provide feedback about Mind(re)set online training program.

View details of Employee Assistance Services for Hospital and Health Services.

View the Orientation Resource for junior doctors in Queensland.

Orientation resources

Queensland Health seeks to support a seamless transition to practice in Queensland public health facilities for both graduating students and junior doctors relocating to Queensland.

To do so, an information resource was developed for junior doctors which covers topics including:

  • Australia’s health care system
  • Queensland’s public health system
  • Working as a medical practitioner in Queensland (incorporating role expectations, recruitment and employment, along with well-being resources)
  • Legislation and professional practice
  • Rural and Remote health services in Queensland

This resource is designed to complement local orientation programs that will be delivered by your employing hospital and health service on your commencement.

View the Orientation Resource for junior doctors in Queensland.

Leadership training

Enhancing medical education, training and supervision resources to enable sustainability within the medical practitioner workforce is a priority for Queensland Health.

The Queensland Department of Health deliver a range of leadership programs for medical practitioners employed across Queensland Health.

Training can be accessed by all levels of the medical practitioner workforce, with programs tailored to:

  • assist junior doctors meet the challenges faced in their first years of working in Queensland Health
  • strengthen the skills clinicians need to supervise, motivate, lead change and provide effective leadership within a healthcare team to provide optimum patient care
  • build capability of senior clinicians to drive service improvements that actively contribute to increasing the effectiveness of Queensland’s health system

The following programs are currently available to medical practitioners employed in Queensland Health:

  • High Impact
  • Manage4Improvement
  • Clinician and Medical Managers Orientation
  • Step Up
  • Learn2Lead
  • Take the Lead