Ballarat Health Service

Ballarat Health Service, one and a half hours' drive from central Melbourne, is the major referral health service for a large region of rural Victoria extending from Bacchus Marsh to the border with South Australia.  It is accredited as a Level 1 training centre by the RACP, and in 2006 hosted its first FRACP clinical examinations.  For the 2007 clinical year, basic physician trainees may rotate to Ballarat from Melbourne Health or Western Health, or be appointed directly by Ballarat Health Service.

Although basic physician trainees are not rotated to Ballarat in the months preceding their FRACP examinations (i.e. generally the last six months of the BPT2 year and the first six months of the BPT3 year), training is a high priority at Ballarat Health Service.  In addition to ‘on the job' teaching by physicians, basic physician trainees can access the RACP lecture series by video conference at Ballarat Base Hospital (Dept of Internal Medicine).  Moreover, there are plans for Ballarat Health Service to develop its own formal basic physician training program, and for some sessions of the Consortium tutorial program for the FRACP written examinations to be video conferenced from Western Hospital to Ballarat Base Hospital.  In addition, for 2007, Ballarat Health Service is building an ‘in house' training program including weekly grand rounds and journal clubs, and fortnightly case presentations.  Clinical training will also be provided on a weekly basis.

Rotations available in Ballarat for basic physician trainees in the 2007 clinical year include: General Medicine, Aged Care, Cardiology, Gastroenterology, Rehabilitation Medicine and Oncology.

For more information about basic physician training in Ballarat, contact Dr Grant Phelps, Director of Physician Training by email or telephone on (03) 5320 4322.