Address

197-243 McDowall St, Roma, QLD, 4455, AUSTRALIA

About the Placement

Placement Type: Hospital

Roma Hospital offers accident and emergency, general ward, outpatient, surgical and birthing services to the community, among a number of others, with the assistance of visiting specialists and the Flying Specialist Service.

It is a 45 bed hospital.

Opportunities for Students

  • Students may have the opportunity to be involved with the flying services visiting Roma

About Roma

Roma is the largest town in the Maranoa Region, at the heart of a rich sheep and cattle grazing area, and offers an array of city-like conveniences with friendly country hospitality. There is an abundance of cafes ideally located throughout town and dining options include fine dining restaurants, niche cafes, contemporary pubs with and alfresco dining, plus all your traditional take-away options. As you are in the heart of beef country be sure to try a mouth-watering grass-fed steak while you are in town.

Close-by attractions include;

  • Park run
  • Stroll around the Adungadoo Pathway
  • Carnarvon Gorge - camping & hike
  • Country Races - March & November
  • Injune Rodeo - October
  • Roma Sale Yards
  • Mitchell Spa & Sunday breakfast

Website

Getting there

Distance from Brisbane: 478km (5h 45m drive time)

Transport Options: Drive

Accommodation Type: Shared student accommodation (2.6km to hospital)

Transport required for placement: Yes - for travel between placement and accommodation

Tips from previous students

  • There were plenty of activities available in Roma outside of placement - trivia night at the Royal on Thursday nights, a comedy show, Dachsund Day and we visited Carnarvon Gorge on one of the weekends.
  • Make the most of your time at a hospital where you can be more hands-on. Be prepared that it can be quite draining with 9hr shifts, but you get to experience a really wide variety of hospital placements.
  • Roma Hospital is a great teaching hospital, but you have to be proactive and put yourself out there to get the most of the opportunity.
  • Get amongst the free training activities because they also come with great free meals! If you want some longer weekends to visit surrounding areas just let them know and the roster will be adjusted, same as if you have any particular areas of interest that you'd like to see.
  • The swimming pool is free. Parkrun is great. There's a Roma women's running group.
  • Would recommend a trip to Carnarvon gorge, Moorelands nursery, the gin distillery and exploring the town centre itself.

Testimonials

Placement at Roma was excellent overall.  Mr preceptor was very organised, very approachable, very easy to communicate with, and facilitated dedicated student teaching for two hours every week. The opportunities provided at the hospital were also fantastic - to be able to rotate through ED, ward, surgery, outpatient clinics and visiting specialists gave us a great exposure to different aspects of working in a larger rural hospital. The opportunity to fly with the flying specialist service was a great added bonus.

My overall experience at Roma hospital has been great and I have enjoyed my time here! From the beginning, all preceptors and staff have been very welcoming and willing to get students involved. Roma hospital has recently been rebuilt so I found that many facilities were just as good as I've seen in a metro setting. There is plenty of opportunity to spend time in a variety of settings including ED, ward, theatre, clinics and with flying specialists.

The placement was fantastic, we were able to rotate through different parts of the hospital and all doctors were so kind, flexible and keen to teach, despite staffing stressors. In particular ED time has been incredibly helpful for developing confidence in clinical reasoning and different practical skills.

I had a great time at my rural placement in Roma Hospital. The doctors were all lovely and willing to teach. We also had lots of opportunities to develop practical skills ranging from history taking and examination to cannulation and venepuncture. Being rural, we had a lot more independence and I think this has helped me immensely develop better clinical reasoning and skills.