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Registrar Experiences

Last updated 13/05/2026

Dr Oliver- junior registrar

My name’s Oliver and I’m currently an unaccredited ED registrar working at Bendigo Health. I made the move from the UK to Australia back in 2021, with Bendigo being the first place I worked as a resident. I instantly felt welcome, with the team helping me to settle into a new country and new style of practice right away. 

After a few years away doing locum work and travelling, I’ve now put down roots and started a family in Bendigo. I’m back working full time in the ED, aiming to start ACEM training in early 2027. We’re very lucky in Bendigo to have a hugely supportive team of DEMTs who are passionate about training the next generation and supporting trainees on their journey to fellowship. The DEMTs run a great weekly teaching programme covering high yield clinical and exam topics, as well as regular sim and practical skills sessions. Trainees are supported and encouraged by all of the FACEMs to be involved in a huge range of procedures and make practicing emergency medicine a real pleasure. Bendigo sees a fantastic range of pathology from a wide area of regional Victoria, with registrars actively involved in managing complex traumas, resuscitation and critical care procedures.

In my experience, the department is incredibly supportive and will always try to offer support to trainees where needed. My partner and I had twins back in mid 2025 and the department has been so helpful in supporting me to maintain a healthy work-life balance. We’re also lucky to have a great ED medical administration team who make things run smoothly from a roster and workforce perspective. 

Work aside, Bendigo offers a great lifestyle outside the big city, with a thriving foodie scene, countless wineries and great surrounding countryside. It’s also very family friendly for anybody with little ones. 

Bendigo is a great place to live and work and I can’t recommend it enough as a place for ED training. 

Dr Rachael- Junior Registrar

I arrived in Bendigo from England in November 2025 as a non-training ED registrar, having never set foot in Australia other than visiting Sydney on holiday. I was keen to come to Victoria, but wasn't sure which hospital to choose. From the moment the DEMTs greeted me in the Zoom interview, however, the decision to come here felt natural. I saw their warmth and the genuine interest they had in finding someone to strengthen the already excellent team here, but also whom they felt would find Bendigo itself a nurturing and challenging environment.
The tone of the Emergency Department is one of an excellent standard of safe care and strong teamwork. No-one is lazy, and pretty much anyone will go above and beyond to help out a colleague or patient. From day one I felt empowered to practice with autonomy, whilst knowing that if I needed support it would be given me without question. The hospital itself is fairly new, and it shows. (I thought I was walking into a private hospital when I first arrived!) I was pleased to find that the relationships between ED and the inpatient specialties are strong, and on the whole, the referral pathways and flow work very well.
The DEMTs are incredible and prioritise your wellbeing and seek to support you in your specific goals, whether that be as an ACEM trainee or otherwise. There are many registrars who have been here for years, which speaks for itself in terms of our experience here. Everyone knows everyone, and cares. We're a very social bunch, with frequent post-teaching pub visits, a run club (plug to join the NFR Run Club!), study groups, and loads of social events throughout the year. Bendigo itself is a lovely place, only a 2 hour direct train from Melbourne (for only $9 - insane), but with loads happening within the city itself, whilst avoiding the nightmarish traffic-heavy commute of somewhere like Melbourne. I am very happy here, and glad I didn't go for a metropolitan hospital where there can be a slightly less tight-knit sense of community. It's a regional centre, but having worked in a rural hospital in New Zealand for 2024, it feels very well-connected and bustling!
I feel absolutely privileged to have been welcomed into a department which sets a very high standard for registrar performance, and capacitates this with a teaching programme that far exceeds any which I have experienced (and I have worked in many hospitals in multiple countries). I am so grateful to work in a place where trainee wellbeing and professional development is made a priority. If you come here, expect to be treated like a member of the family, and expect to want to stay!

Dr Grace- ACEM trainee

We are a married couple from the UK and both senior emergency registrars at Bendigo Health. We have worked in a total of 6 different Emergency Departments since moving to Australia in 2020, ranging from solo doctor hospitals in regional QLD, to working in a major trauma centre in Melbourne with over 60 registrars! We can honestly say that Bendigo ED has been ‘just right’ for us, with the perfect combination of high acuity and complex medicine merged with the country ED team vibe that makes it all so much fun.

The teaching is absolutely fantastic- you can tell so much effort and thought goes into the weekly teaching sessions and they are suitable for both junior registrars considering ACEM training, all the way up to senior registrars preparing for fellowships. The DEMT’s are enthusiastic and very keen to provide support and guidance in all aspects of registrar life, including getting to grips with running a chaotic department overnight and also preparing for exams and planning rotations.

The department itself is well equipped and well-staffed. Although there are the usual issues with hospital flow and bed block, there is great teamwork and comradery in Bendigo ED. The FACEM group is exceptional and there are frequent opportunities to perform interesting procedures like chest drains, lateral canthotomies, lumbar punctures etc. There is also a fantastic mental health service (ECATT) that are so incredibly proactive in seeing patients presenting with mental health issues which is a unique bonus to the ED- we have never experienced this before in any other department.

Bendigo is also a really beautiful town with easy access to Melbourne. We have been given a paired roster which allows us to maximise our work life balance. We are really enjoying it here and are not wanting to rush back to the city anytime soon!

I would highly recommend Bendigo ED for ACEM training!

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