Cairns is where the rainforest meets the reef. It’s also where a rewarding medical career meets tropical holiday lifestyle. The combination of living and training in Cairns is hard to beat.

Training in the Cairns region 

Cairns Hospital is the largest major referral hospital in Far North Queensland. Located on Cairns Esplanade, the hospital is a supportive and hands-on learning environment with opportunities in many medical specialties and a diverse case mix of illnesses unique to tropical climates. 

Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service (CHHHS)?comprises more than 30 regional, rural and remote facilities across an area from Cairns to Tully in the south, Cow Bay in the north and Croydon in the west. CHHHS also provides referral services to the Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service. 

Cairns hospitals

Cairns Hospital

From internship to fellowship, CHHHS has accredited basic and advanced training positions across multiple disciplines, including Emergency Medicine, Anaesthetics, Intensive Care Medicine, Medical Administration, General Surgery and Surgical Subspecialties, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Psychiatry, Dermatology, Internal Medicine, Paediatrics, Pathology, Rural Generalism and General Practice. Advanced Skills Training is available in Anaesthetics, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Emergency, Internal Medicine and Mental Health. Rural rotations are available at Atherton, Innisfail, Mareeba, Mossman, Tully, Thursday Island, Weipa and Cooktown. 

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Cairns Private Hospital

Cairns Private Hospital offers a comprehensive range of medical and allied services including Cardiology, Endocrinology, Gastroenterology, Opthalmology, Respiratory Medicine, Oncology, Renal Dialysis, and Orthopaedic Surgery. The da Vinci Xi Surgical Robot System, an advanced tool for minimally invasive surgery, is available for urological, gynaecological and colorectal surgery. The hospital is owned and operated by Ramsay Health Care. 

Ramsay Clinic Cairns

Ramsay Clinic Cairns is a mental health facility with acute inpatient services, neurostimulation services and day programs. Other private clinics include Queensland X-Ray, Cairns Day Surgery and Cairns Orthopaedic Clinic. 

Research Facilities

Tropical Australian Academic Health Centre (TAAHC)

Tropical Australian Academic Health Centre (TAAHC) is a collaboration between northern Queensland’s five hospital and health services, the Northern Queensland Primary Health Network, JCU and the Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine. 

Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine (AITHM)

Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine (AITHM) has a key node in Cairns. AITHM’s research focuses on diseases of high burden in the Tropics, Tropical Health Security and Tropical Health Systems. 

JCU Research and Teaching Project Portal for Medicine and Dentistry Research

Incentives

Find up to date incentives on the Workforce Attraction Incentive Scheme website, and in the Medical Officers’ Certified Agreement document.

More details on Internship Contact details and Awards and agreements found here.

Specialties in Cairns

Living in the Cairns region

With beautiful beaches and lush rainforests, the Cairns region offers laid-back coastal living with city vibes. Cairns is the only place in the world where two World Heritage areas – the Great Barrier Reef and the Wet Tropics Rainforest – meet.

This thriving tropical city is home to approximately 165,000 people from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Tourism is a key industry, contributing to the more transient nature of Cairns’ population. It is estimated 14% of the region’s residents have Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander heritage, compared to 4% for Queensland as a whole.

The Cairns region has a range of excellent public and independent schools. It boasts one of Australia’s leading regional airports, offering direct flights to Auckland, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Darwin, Townsville, Sunshine Coast, Newcastle, the Whitsundays and centres across northern Queensland.

Cairns residents are spoiled for choice when it comes to exploring on weekends and holidays. As gateway to the Great Barrier Reef, Cairns is the jumping-off spot to view marine wildlife and exotic coral reef that cannot be found anywhere else in the world.

From the tropical islands scattered along the coast to the lush rainforests of the Atherton Tablelands and Cape Tribulation, the scenery is world renowned. The World Heritage-listed Daintree Rainforest has the highest number of rare or endangered plant and animal species in the world.

Other natural wonders in the Cairns region include the Undara Lava Tubes, Chillagoe-Mungana Caves, Innot Hot Springs, Barron Gorge and Mossman Gorge.

Foodie trails flourish in Cairns, the seaside villages of Palm Cove and Port Douglas, and the Atherton Tablelands. The Tablelands produces almost three-quarters of Australia’s coffee and is home to dairies, chocolate and gourmet cheese factories, wineries, craft distilleries, tropical fruit farms and produce markets.

The region has a rich Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture, which can be experienced through guided tours with the traditional owners, dance performances and art displays.

Cairns is an outdoor adventure playground for lovers of white water rafting, fishing, snorkelling, scuba diving, kayaking, mountain biking, parasailing, skydiving, hot air ballooning, ziplining and even bungee jumping.

With competitive leagues across more than 400 sport and recreational clubs, Cairns has a strong sporting culture. Qualified trainers deliver free exercise classes in parks around the city as part of Cairns Regional Council’s free Active Living program. Cairns regularly hosts national sporting teams in football, rugby league and AFL and is home to a NBL team, the Cairns Taipans.

>  Discover more about the Cairns region