Central Adelaide Local Health Network (CALHN) provides acute and community services to central metropolitan Adelaide and tertiary services to a wider catchment area. Hospitals and services within the CALHN include the Royal Adelaide Hospital, The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Glenside Hospital, Hampstead Rehabilitation Centre, a range of sub-acute and primary health care services and several state-wide services.
CALHN serves the South Australian community through a multidisciplinary patient-focused model, delivering comprehensive medical services and care to manage a diverse range of complex health issues. CALHN is committed to our community through a partnership approach in delivering healthcare that promotes wellness through illness prevention and proactive treatment of disease.
CALHN provides a broad base of clinical experience and has a demonstrated culture of expert teaching and training which is very well supported by senior clinicians and trainees.
CALHN is an accredited prevocational (PGY1 and PGY2+) medical training provider. The hospitals to which interns are allocated as home-based hospitals are The Queen Elizabeth Hospital and the Royal Adelaide Hospital.
To find out more about CALHN services and how to access them click here.
The Royal Adelaide Hospital is an 800-bed Hospital providing a comprehensive range of the most complex clinical care to an estimated 85,000 inpatients and 400,000 outpatients each year. Structurally, the hospital spans the equivalent of three city blocks and is located on a site containing almost four hectares of landscaped parks and internal green space, including over 70 courtyards, terraces and sky gardens.
The RAH is located in the Northwest corner of the Adelaide CBD and is accessible by various bus, tram and train routes. There is a staff car park onsite and a parking permit can be applied for with consideration given to the full-time shift-working workforce.
The Queen Elizabeth Hospital (TQEH) is a 355 bed, acute and sub-acute teaching hospital that provides inpatient, outpatient, emergency and mental health services to a population of more than 250,000 people living primarily in Adelaide’s western suburbs.
TQEH Medical Education Unit oversees rotations based at TQEH as well as CALHN intern rotations at various offsite locations such as Glenside Hospital, Rural GP practices (Jamestown, Port Lincoln and Waikerie), Port Augusta Hospital (General Surgery) and Emergency Department at Women’s and Children’s Hospital.
Kangkanthi, pronounced ‘gun-gun-dee’, is a Kaurna word meaning ‘to care’, is the new 5-level clinical services building at TQEH, open on 3 July 2024.
The Kangkanthi building includes the following services:
- a 46 bay emergency department (ED)
- SA Medical Imaging department
- a 14 bed Intensive Care Unit (ICU), including a simulation laboratory
- 12 operating theatres including pre-operative and recovery spaces
- 4 procedure rooms and a cardiac catheterisation laboratory
- 52 inpatient beds for general rehabilitation including therapy and gym facilities
- Central Sterilising Services Department
- SA Pathology Laboratory
TQEH is situated in Adelaide’s western suburb, 20 minutes from the CBD. It is well-connected by public transport, with regular bus services operating along Port Road and stop directly outside the hospital on Woodville Road and train access via Woodville Railway Station. A multi-deck staff car park is located on the hospital grounds.
Internship
Royal Adelaide Hospital and The Queen Elizabeth Hospital
- Weekly Intern teaching – protected training time
- This program provides ongoing educational and training opportunities in response to the changing needs of interns as they progress through their clinical rotations. These are practical, case-based discussions guiding interns on how to solve problems that they can expect to experience in their daily practice.
- MDT MER simulation training
- Ward bedside teaching and MDT meetings
- Intern simulation training
- ECG Masterclasses
- Career development workshops
- Weekly Surgical Unit intern teaching (for interns undertaking Surgical terms)
- Weekly Emergency Department teaching (for interns undertaking an Emergency Medicine term)
- Weekly General Medicine teaching (for interns undertaking General Medicine terms)
- Ward rounds and individual teaching meetings
- Weekly Medical Grand Rounds
- Surgical Grand Rounds
- Clinical Teacher Development Training
- Adult Advanced Life Support Training (ALS1 & ALS2)
- Clinical Skills Twilight Sessions
- Near-Peer Mentorship Program
Each rotation has a specific Term Description document which outlines the supervision arrangements for the rotation. These documents are available to the intern before commencement of the term. Supervision may be provided by varied personnel i.e. RMO/Registrar, Consultant and Term Supervisor. Interns are encouraged to read and understand the term description prior to the term commencing. A unit orientation document is completed by the Term Supervisor and the Intern ensuring a comprehensive orientation to the unit is completed. The DCT and MEO are always available to provide support and guidance as needed. A near-peer mentorship program is also now in its 9th year at TQEH which provides those interns interested in this form of support a mentor for the year in the form of a PGY2+.
Interns may receive support from many and varied personnel, and this is well outlined during the orientation program i.e.:
- DCT – Director of Clinical Training
- MEO – Medical Education Officer
- Term Supervisors
- TMO Unit
- Senior medical colleagues
- Medical Education Registrar
- AMA
- SASMOA
- SA MET JMO Forum
- CALHN TMO Forum
- Intern Reps – Advocates, General Clinical Training Committee, Medical Education Committee, After-Hours Committee
- Interviews with DCT and MEO
- Medical Education Unit Office open door policy
- Doctors Health SA
- Employee Assistance Program
- Chief Medical Residents
Interns are asked to preference rotations as well as provide their leave preferences prior to the commencement of the clinical year. The DCTs, MEOs and TMO Unit assign the rotations taking into consideration individual preferences, leave requirements/requests and organisational requirements. Some interns will undertake Nights or Relieving terms. Rotations will be allocated to ensure compliance with the AMC Framework.
When all rotation allocations have been determined, the site where the majority of terms (i.e. 3 out of 5) will take place and coinciding Term 1 allocation (in most cases) determines the home-base hospital. All efforts are made to have Interns commence their internship within their home hospital.
The individual unit Term Description document outlines the required rostered working hours – this is variable to each unit with a minimum of 76 hours per fortnight.
The TMO unit manages annual leave and other leave requirements. It is required that interns take 3 weeks annual leave throughout the year and the final two weeks of annual leave are allocated at the end of internship and before commencement of the PGY2 year.
| TQEH rotations | RAH rotations |
| Acute Medical Unit | Acute Mental Health |
| Breast and Endocrine | Acute Stroke |
| Cardiology | Cardiology |
| Emergency Medicine | Colorectal Surgery |
| Gastroenterology | Emergency Medicine |
| General Medicine | ENT Surgery |
| General Rehabilitation | Gastroenterology |
| Geriatric Medicine (Aged Care) | General Medicine |
| Geriatric Rehabilitation | Geriatric Medicine |
| Nights | Hepatobiliary Surgery |
| Orthopaedic Surgery | Neurology – including Subacute Stroke |
| Palliative Care | Nights |
| Plastic Surgery | Orthopaedic Surgery |
| Psychiatry | Plastic Surgery |
| Psycho-Geriatric | Radiation Oncology |
| Relieving | Relieving |
| Respiratory | Thoracic Medicine |
| Upper GI | Trauma Surgery & Surgical Oncology |
| Urology | Upper GI Surgery |
| Vascular Surgery |
| Offsite rotations managed by TQEH Medical Education Unit | |
| Drug and Alcohol Services SA (DASSA), Glenside Hospital | Emergency Department, Women’s and Children’s Hospital |
| General Surgery, Port Augusta Hospital | Rural & Remote Psychiatry, Glenside Hospital |
| Rural General Practice (Jamestown, Port Lincoln & Waikerie) |
PGY2+
PGY2+ General Trainee (GT) Program and Surgical Resident Medical Officer Program educational opportunities are integrated across all CALHN sites.
General Trainee Program Educational Opportunities
- GT Education Training Program – fortnightly one hour education sessions aimed to provide ongoing educational and training opportunities valuable for professional development and career progression. TQEH onsite Pager protected time.
- Specialty workshops with targeted educational focus involving theory and practical skills
- Medical Emergency Response (MER/MET) and Code Blue Simulation Training – Multidisciplinary sessions with simulation, case discussions and debriefs (for GTs undertaking General Medicine terms at TQEH)
- The program curriculum is linked to the National Framework for Prevocational (PGY1 & PGY2) Medical Training and the National Safety & Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards
- Emergency Medicine teaching
- Clinical teaching and MDT meetings
- Supported Professional Development
- Supported Adult Advanced Life Support Training
- Career development support and GT Program Meetings
- Journal clubs
- Unit-based Research Opportunities
- Near-Peer mentoring program – TQEH
- Medical Grand Rounds
- General Medicine Grand Rounds
- CALHN Medical Education Committee (MEC), the RAH Medical Education & Training Committee (METC) and TQEH General Clinical Training Committee (GCTC) membership opportunities
Surgical Resident Medical Officer Program Educational Opportunities
- Surgical Education Training Program – series of workshops aimed to provide ongoing educational and training opportunities valuable for professional development and career progression.
- Specialty workshops with targeted educational focus involving theory and practical skills
- Surgical Peer Educator Opportunities.
- The program curriculum is linked to the National Framework for Prevocational (PGY1 & PGY2) Medical Training and the National Safety & Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards
- Emergency Medicine teaching
- Clinical teaching and MDT meetings
- Unit-based Research Opportunities
- Supported Adult Advanced Life Support Training
- Career development support and Surgical Program Meetings
- Journal clubs
- Near-Peer mentoring program – TQEH
- Surgical Grand Rounds
- Supported Professional Development
- CALHN Medical Education Committee (MEC), the RAH Medical Education & Training Committee (METC) and TQEH General Clinical Training Committee (GCTC) membership opportunities.
Each PGY2+ rotation has a specific Term Description, which outlines the unit-based supervision for the rotation. These documents are available to the PGY2+ before commencement of the term. Supervision may be provided by varied personnel i.e. RMO/Registrar, Consultant and Term Supervisor. PGY2+ doctors are encouraged to read and understand the term description prior to the term commencing. A unit orientation document is completed by the Term Supervisor and the PGY2+, ensuring a comprehensive orientation to the unit is completed. Both the RAH and TQEH Medical Education Units have an open-door policy and the DCT and MEO are always available to provide support and guidance as needed.
TMOs may receive support from many and varied personnel, including (but not limited to):
- DCT – Director of Clinical Training
- MEO – Medical Education Officer
- Term Supervisors
- TMO Unit
- Senior medical colleagues
- Medical Education Registrar
- SA MET JMO Forum
- CALHN TMO Forum
- TMO Reps – Advocates, General Clinical Training Committee, Medical Education Committee, After-Hours Committee
- Interviews with DCT and MEO
- Doctors Health SA
- Employee Assistance Program
- Chief Medical Residents
- AMA
- SASMOA
PGY2+ General Trainee (GT) Program and Surgical Resident Medical Officer Program rotations are integrated across all CALHN sites. The two major CALHN hospitals; The Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH) and The Queen Elizabeth Hospital (TQEH), offer a dynamic range of rotations, including:
- The Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH)
- The Queen Elizabeth Hospital (TQEH)
- Women’s and Children’s Health Network (WCHN),
- Hampstead Rehabilitation Centre (HRC)
- Repat Health Precinct (RHP)
- Glenside Health Services
- Western Community
- Radiation Oncology Darwin
- Adelaide Sexual Health Centre.
TMOs are offered rotation preferences and leave preferences in support of Career Development and National Framework Standards. Please see the Information Pack for the full list of rotations.
For information about the intern application process, please refer to the SA Health Careers website.
Last updated: March 2025
