The Central Adelaide Local Health Network (CALHN) is an accredited prevocational (PGY1 and PGY2+) medical training provider. The South Australian Medical Education and Training Unit’s (SA MET) Accreditation Standards provide the framework against which the quality of education, training, support, supervision and welfare are measured and met.
The hospitals within CALHN to which interns are allocated as home-based hospitals are The Queen Elizabeth Hospital and the Royal Adelaide Hospital. Other sites and services in CALHN include Hampstead Rehabilitation Hospital, Glenside Hospital, a range of sub-acute and primary health care services and several statewide 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 in vocational training programs.
The Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH) 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 Queen Elizabeth Hospital is a 303 bed, acute care 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. The Queen Elizabeth Hospital Medical Education Unit as well as overseeing rotations based at TQEH also oversees CALHN intern offsite rotations including Glenside Hospital, Hampstead Rehabilitation Services, Rural GP locations of Port Lincoln, Waikerie and Jamestown and General Surgery at Port Augusta Hospital.
Mid 2024 will see the opening of a new purpose-built 5 level building which will allow for the relocation of services from the exiting tower building. This building enables the relocation of rehabilitation services from Hampstead Rehabilitation Centre.
The new building will also have a larger emergency department, expanded operating theatres and pre-operative and recovery bays, state of the art intensive care unit, larger medical imaging department, centralised pathology laboratory, modern procedure suite including cardiac catheterisation laboratory, upgraded central sterile supply department, purpose built general rehabilitation wards and multiple staff support areas.
Royal Adelaide Hospital
- Weekly Intern training meetings – Mandatory 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.
- Intern simulation training – Mandatory protected training time
- Weekly Surgical Units intern teaching meetings (for interns undertaking Surgical terms)
- Weekly Emergency Department teaching meetings (for interns undertaking an Emergency Medicine term)
- Weekly General Medicine teaching meetings (for interns undertaking General Medicine terms)
- Ward rounds and individual teaching meetings
- Weekly Medical Grand Rounds
- Clinical Teacher Development Training
- Adult Advanced Life Support Training (ALS1 & ALS2)
The Queen Elizabeth Hospital
- Weekly Intern teaching – Mandatory pager protected time
- The program curriculum is linked to the National Framework for Prevocational (PGY1 & PGY2) Medical Training and the National Safety & Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards
- Intern simulation training
- Interns attend a minimum of two simulation training sessions during the intern year. This includes both single and group simulation training.
- ECG Masterclasses
- Clinical Skills Twilight Sessions
- Emergency Medicine teaching (Wednesday mornings)
- Ward bedside teaching and MBT meetings
- Adult Advanced Life Support Training
- Career development workshops including career guidance / interview practice / CV writing / cover letter writing
- Paediatric Life Support Training
- Journal clubs
- Near-Peer mentoring program
- Mindfulness Courses – 6 weeks of mindfulness sessions offered several times per year
- Code Blue/MET Training Simulation workshops
- Access to Weekly Grand Rounds via teleconferencing
Each accredited Intern training 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; Term Supervisor. Interns are encouraged to read and understand the term description prior to the term commencing. An 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 peer mentoring program is also now in its 8th 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
- Medical Administration
- Senior medical colleagues
- AMA/SASMOA
- SA MET JMO Forum
- CALHN TMO Forum
- Intern Reps – Advocates, General Clinical Training Committee
- Interviews with DCT and MEO
- Medical Education Unit Office open door policy
- Health Advisory Agencies i.e. Staff counselling support services; Doctors Health Advisory Service; Doctors Health SA etc
- Chief Medical Residents
- Intern Reps – Advocates, Medical Education Committee
- Regular Intern Talkfests
- Own health practitioners i.e. GPs etc
Interns are asked to preference rotations as well as provide their leave preferences. The DCTs, MEOs and Roster Manager assign the rotation allocations considering preferences, required number of off-site rotations, leave requirements/requests etc. and organisational requirements. Some interns will undertake Nights or Relieving terms.
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.
Depending on your home-base hospital, Medical Administration 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 |
| Aged Care |
Acute Stroke |
| Breast Endocrine and Surgical Oncology |
Cardiology |
| Cardiology |
Colorectal Surgery |
| Colorectal |
Emergency Medicine |
| Emergency Medicine |
ENT Surgery |
| Gastroenterology |
Gastroenterology |
| General Medicine |
General Medicine |
| Medical Nights |
Geriatric Medicine |
| Orthopaedic Surgery |
Hepatobiliary Surgery |
| Palliative Care |
Medical Oncology |
| Plastic Surgery |
Neurology – including Subacute Stroke |
| Psychiatry |
Nights |
| Psycho-Geriatric |
Orthopaedic Surgery |
| Relieving |
Plastic Surgery |
| Respiratory |
Radiation Oncology |
| Surgical Nights |
Relieving |
| Upper Gastrointestinal |
Thoracic Medicine |
| Urology |
Trauma Surgery & Surgical Oncology |
|
Upper GI Surgery |
|
Vascular Surgery |
| Offsite rotations managed by TQEH Medical |
| Rural & Remote Psychiatry (Glenside Campus) |
General Rehabilitation Hampstead Rehabilitation Hospital |
| DASSA (Glenside Campus) |
Geriatric Rehabilitation Hampstead Rehabilitation Hospital |
| Jamestown, Waikerie, Pt Lincoln |
Emergency Department, Women’s and Children’s Hospital Network |
| General Surgery Port Augusta |
There are a wide range of bus services to TQEH depending on the time and day. Buses travel between the city and the Port Adelaide area along Port Road. Transit Link and Circle Line buses stop outside the hospital on Woodville Road. A multi-deck staff car park is available onsite. The hospital is situated 20 minutes from the CBD and 15-20 minutes from the beautiful western suburb beaches.
The RAH is located in the North West 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.
For information about the intern application process, please refer to the SA Health Careers website.
Last updated: March 2024
