Careers

Student Placements

Smith Street Practice welcomes medical students at all stages of training. The practice prides itself on providing a stimulating placement experience. Several Smith Street Practice doctors have appointments with University of Newcastle.

During your student placement you rotate between various Doctors and nurses so you can be exposed to a range of medical problems and learn from the Doctor’s special interest.

Apply to Practice Manager Jo-anne Bacon to see if the practice can accommodate your placement request.

"I began working for the Smith Street Practice in January of 2011, during a year off after school before starting university. I was preparing to study medicine and saw an opportunity to build my knowledge while saving money for college.

I began as an office assistant and was very quickly welcomed into the working environment by the team of friendly staff, which included the front desk staff, practice manager, nurses and general practitioners. During the subsequent twelve months, I received a unique peek into the public and community health systems that has benefitted me during every point of my training since. I was exposed to senior clinicians, had the opportunity to be taught about common medical conditions, as well as being shown some rare cases that presented to the practice.

I was also encouraged to take up a more independent role in the office, with my capabilities growing from simple scanning and phone-answering to helping to expand the practice’s online presence, facilitating visits from local and national political figures and promoting the practice through media coverage in the form of magazine articles.

Many of the skills that I learned in the Smith Street Practice office still benefit me greatly today in my role as a junior Doctor in metropolitan Melbourne hospitals."

Braden Preston

GP Training

Smith Street Practice was established in Tamworth in 1999 and has been an accredited training practice since 2002 taking full and part-time registrars in GPT1, GPT2 & GPT3 terms. In 2003 the practice was awarded the NSW Practice of the Year following nomination by practice accreditors. The unique model of part time female practitioners running a successful training medical practice in a rural provincial town has received media attention and was profiled in research projects on female general practitioners working in rural areas. There is a strong emphasis on sustainability of general practice work in a rural provincial town with a chronic GP doctor shortage.

In 2009 the expansion of the practice necessitated us building a purpose built medical centre which was completed and moved into in November 2009. The address change necessitated a new name: Smith Street Practice. The new premises are twice the size, with 7 consulting rooms, 3 practice nurse rooms including a procedure room, a large meeting room area for teaching and a separate tea room. Smith Street Practice is situated opposite the Tamworth Rural Referral Hospital which means that Radiology and pathology services as well as the University Department of Rural Health are in immediate proximity to the hospital.

The practice has full time nurse support on hand including a part time mental health nurse who coordinates mental health plans, reviews, referrals and follow up and recalls of this clientele. Trainees will be exposed to a wide variety of patients throughout their training terms and also will have opportunity to learn about practicalities of practice management and contribute to operational decisions along the way.

"Apply to Smith Street Practice if you want to work in a supportive practice with a great team. I had the pleasure of working at Smith Street Practice as a GPT2 registrar in 2016. The supervisors and the other non-supervisor doctors are accessible and keen to share their knowledge.

The work life balance at Smith Street Practice is on point and the practice runs a good model where you not only learn to be a doctor but also some of the finer aspects of operating yourself (the doctor) as a small business. Did I mention that I was able to prepare well for the written component of the RACGP exams and pass?

Dr Ast and Dr Grotowski also ran some extra OSCE prep sessions to get myself ready for the OSCE exams despite not being a registrar there in GPT3.
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All in all, a highly recommended practice for registrars at any stage of their training."

Dr Vincent Nguy - GP Registrar

GP’s looking for a tree change

Tamworth is a city of 60,000 people in the New England area of NSW. The things we love about Tamworth are - great friendly community, no traffic, clean air , excellent schools , lots of sport but also lots of artistic activities too. And of course country music. The wide tree lined main street has many cafés, restaurants and shops.
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Tamworth is close to many beautiful national parks like Warrabah and Kaputar. It is an hour by air to Sydney or Brisbane.
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Tamworth regional referral hospital is a 288 bed hospital with all tertiary services except for neurosurgery. There are lots of medical educational activities.

It is a fabulous place to live and work.

More about Tamworth:

In addition to world-class country music, Tamworth is a dynamic and progressive city boasting lifestyle, education and employment opportunities the envy of its city counterparts. Add to this it's natural beauty and an enviable wining, dining and cafe culture and it’s easy to see why so many people are making the move.

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Named the “perfect country town” by Australian Traveller magazine, Tamworth is the best of both worlds – where the ease of a country lifestyle and the convenience of city facilities are yours. Tamworth is cool in winter and pleasantly hot in summer, a place where you can choose your pace.

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"I worked as a GP registrar at Smith Street Practice from February 2016 until July 2017. I undertook GPT 2, 3 and extended skills in sexual health.

During my time, I found the GP supervisors incredibly supportive and engaging with regular teaching. I felt I was exposed to a wide variety of medical presentations, and well up-skilled with procedures.

The staff were supportive during the exam period, running regular exam preparation sessions to assist with study. The GPs were enthusiastic about assisting me, and the practice itself boasted collegiality and a sense of community for all those involved.

As a registrar not originally from Tamworth, there was a sense of support and friendship that went beyond the 9-5 work day, and during my time I felt like I became a part of the town. I would highly recommend this practice as a site of training, as I am a far better clinician for my time at Smith Street."

Dr Jerome Crouche - GP Registrar

Student Placements

GP Training

GP’s looking for a tree change

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