Nursing in the Territory

About our Hospitals

Royal Darwin Hospital Set on a harbour twice the size of Sydney's, Darwin is a modern and tropical city - and probably Australia’s most culturally diverse location. More than 50 nationalities make up the town’s 100,000-plus population, including the traditional landowners, the Larrakia Aboriginal people. Darwin is the gateway to the Northern Territory's Top End, which encompasses famous destinations such as Litchfield National Park and the Tiwi Islands. It is also the launch pad for travel to Kakadu National Park and Arnhem Land.

Royal Darwin Hospital (RDH) is the largest hospital in the Northern Territory, with 345 beds including 25 mental health beds and 1500 staff working across the four divisions of:

• Maternal and Child Health
• Medicine
• Surgery
• Emergency and Critical Care Medicine

The hospital won international recognition for its role in the retrieval, treatment and transfer of victims of the 2002 Bali bombings. Within 62 hours of the blasts, medical staff had resuscitated 61 patients - including 20 intensive care patients - and evacuated 48 patients to burns centres around Australia.

Accredited by the Australian Council of Healthcare Standards, RDH is one of five public hospitals providing comprehensive inpatient, outpatient and emergency services in the Northern Territory. RDH and Alice Springs Hospital act as referral centres for Katherine, Gove and Tennant Creek Hospitals.

Central to Health

Since it was opened in 1980 – and following a $40 million redevelopment in 2003 – the hospital has extended its specialist services to provide the following:

Emergency Department
The hospital’s Emergency Department is the trauma centre for the Top End of Australia as well as South East Asia.

Allied Health Professional and Support Services
RDH provides patients with access to an extensive range of professional and support services to assist their recovery. These include:

A leader in research, teaching and learning

RDH is a teaching hospital affiliated with Flinders University of South Australia (FUSA) and the University of Sydney, and is home to the NT Clinical School providing education in areas such as remote health, tropical disease and Aboriginal health.

Also located at the hospital is the Centre for Evidence Based Nursing, a joint initiative with Charles Darwin University that supports evidence-based nursing, provides staff with professional education in clinical specialities and supports research.

The Menzies School of Health Research is also located on site at the world-class Combined Health Building. The School is a multi-disciplinary research organisation conducting leading studies and research in infectious and chronic diseases and community health, with a focus on Aboriginal health.

Great salary and benefits

In addition to salaries among the highest in Australia, up to seven weeks annual leave, relocation assistance and salary sacrificing options, we offer many other attractive conditions and benefits.

Plenty of accommodation options
To help make the transition to Darwin a bit easier, new nursing staff can rent a bed-sitter on site at the hospital during their first year, while couples both employed as nurses can rent a one-bedroom unit. Residents at the hospital have everything at hand to enjoy a fantastic lifestyle – including swimming pool, tennis courts, squash courts, gym and barbeques.

Short stroll to pristine beaches and nature
On your days off take some time to enjoy the pristine beach and nature park located just a few minutes walk from the hospital.

Enjoy the beautiful, long stretch of white beach and adjacent reserve that make up the Casuarina Coastal Reserve. Here you’ll find walking and bicycle paths, picnic tables – and an abundance of wildlife. Chances are you will meet many Darwin locals – including fellow hospital staff - who use the reserve for jogging, walking their dogs and as a venue for Tai Chi or meditation classes.

Close to shopping and transport
The northern suburbs’ major shopping centre, Casuarina Shopping Square where you will find everything from Coles, Woolworths and K Mart to specialty shops and eateries. There are also plenty of takeaway food chains close at hand.

A bus stop is located on the main drive into the hospital, and a feeder service operates between the hospital and the depot interchange at Casuarina Shopping Square.

Training and development

The hospital’s Workforce Development Unit of Dept Health & Community Services offers many training and education programs including a First Year Graduate Program for tertiary trained nurses, a range of clinical and organisational short courses including Aboriginal Cultural Awareness, Manual Handling, Advanced Life Support, and Burns Management, Pain Management, Wound Management, Orthopaedic Nursing, Special Care Nursery. Nurses are able to access a range of management development courses through Workforce Development, the NT Department of Corporate Services and the Office of the Commissioner for Public Employment. All nurses have access to a comprehensive in-service Education Program, with courses in Midwifery, Orthopaedic Nursing, Neonatal Nursing, Paediatrics, Critical Care and Advanced Cardiac Life Support. A Graduate Nurse Transition Program is available for new graduate nurses and postgraduate education and training is available through the Charles Darwin University. The Department offers several studies assistance schemes to assist nurses undertaking postgraduate education and training or professional development activities.

Royal Darwin Hospital offers an in-service program and has a range of Clinical Nurse Educators and Clinical Nurse Consultants that provide education, training and support to nurses in clinical practice.

Want to Know More?

If you’re considering joining our team at Royal Darwin Hospital call our nursing recruitment hotline today on 1800 000 648 or email us at nursinginfo.ths@nt.gov.au

Our staff will answer any questions you have about living in Darwin and working at our hospital.