Address

69 Hospital Rd, Emerald, QLD, 4720, AUSTRALIA

About the Placement

Placement Type: Hospital

Emerald Hospital has a large range of general and speciality services including, 24hour accident & emergency, surgical (day surgery, minor and general surgery), gastroenterology, maternity, fracture/orthopaedic outpatient clinic and many more. Visiting services include a general surgeon, obstetrician/gynaecologist, ear nose and throat specialist and paediatrician. 

It is a 37 bed district hospital.

About Emerald

One of the largest towns on the Central Highlands, Emerald is the regional centre and thriving hub for many government facilities including council, education, and health and industries including mining, beef cattle, cotton, cropping, sunflowers, gemstones, tourism and citrus. With so much activity going on, there is always something to see and do around the town.

Close-by attractions include;

  • Lake Maraboon
  • Fairbairn Dam
  • Carnarvon National Park
  • The Gemfields

Website

Getting there

Distance from Brisbane: 871km (9h 30m drive time)

Transport Options: Bus, Drive, Fly, Train

Accommodation Type: Shared student accommodation (300m to hospital)

Transport required for placement: Advantageous - for exploring the region

Tips from Previous Students

  • Hit the ground running, get as involved as possible. It can be a little bit overwhelming early on due to the isolation of the hospital and the responsibility that comes with rural healthcare but that is part of what makes the placement rewarding
  • The Emerald Hospital staff will make every effort to facilitate your learning if you show an interest. Ask to do things, even when you don't know people - it pays off ten-fold.
  • Trivia at the Mayfair tavern and the Maraboon tavern, doctors are normally quite excited to come along with the students and there are good prizes to be won.
  • The community pool is a great way to cool off from the Emerald heat and also swim some laps for fitness.
  • There is a weekly fun run on Saturdays. The markets are once a month which are great! The dam is a great place for afternoon drinks and to watch the sunset. The Gemfields are within close proximity and you can give fossicking a go!

Testimonials

Emerald Hospital is an excellent rural hospital offering a large number of health services including rotating surgical services and a rural generalist run obstetric service.  Student's are encouraged to make use of this and try and gain exposure to a number of clinical environments including wards, ED, surgical time and outreach clinic visits.

The hospital provided an amazing insight into rural medicine.

The ED staff were fantastic. Wards were less interesting. All of the staff in Emerald Hospital were willing to teach and in some way acted as my preceptor at various points. They were all willing to have me present cases to them and involved me in the care of the patient. I would also like to acknowledge the junior doctors at the hospital who were very approachable. They gave me lots of useful advice on being a med student, helpful tricks for various skills/procedures and assisted me in developing my communication skills.

The doctors were brilliant and understanding educators. I cannot thank them enough and hope they are recognised for their kindness, professionalism and mentorship.