The old 'general surgery is the fallback' line died in 2025: appointments were cut from 121 to 54 and the 2026 intake ran 195 applications to 50 offers.
Typical start years; people vary by a year or two. Diamonds are exams. Stage list and sources in the pathway tab.
Structural shift: intake halved in 2025. Interview 50% makes it the most 'recoverable' process, and there is no attempt cap - but the top-50% cut before interview is real. Ratings are the encoder's 1–5 call from college numbers and r/ausjdocs; applicant-to-place ratios double-count people who apply in several states. Evidence rows are in getting selected.
Selection is 50% interview, but you only get interviewed if Rurality + CV + a 15-referee multi-source net puts you in the top 50%. No attempt cap, a 4-year rotation window, and the cheapest points in the system are six months at an MM2-5 hospital.
Make two time sheets every pay cycle. … When you leave the unit and / or get on the program, submit the overtime timesheets for back pay.
Recently got on to a Surg sub speciality. I without doubt had a few very shitty years but now I am essentially certain to finish and make $1mil plus a year.
Revert back to anaesthetics is an interesting phrase.
I recently shared my anki deck for GSSE on the medicalschoolanki subreddit.
All 216 curated quotes by topic, trajectories and threads.
surgeons.org for the facts and summary · rating and pathway encoded by hand from the same sources · quotes are verbatim r/ausjdocs comments, community view not policy
Number = distinct authors who said it; dashed chips are single reports (under three authors). Hover or long-press a chip for the why.
Stages: surgeons.org, ausdoc.com.au, generalsurgeons.com.au · terms: r/ausjdocs term-strategy collection, counted by distinct author, community view not policy
"Mandatory" is the college's word. Amber "community" rows are what the sub says panels actually want.
Society-set SET fees are not published centrally by RACS; scrape each society annually.
Canberra Health Services campaign May 2026 - Feb 2027; most registrar and unaccredited registrar positions opened 29 Jun and closed 2 Aug 2026; RMO and Service SRMO 31 Aug - 27 Sep. CHS publishes standalone PDs per role that disclose unit composition. General surgery unaccredited registrar jobs are direct-to-employer everywhere except the QLD SET1 PHO central allocation and the WA SSR scheme.
SET selection is national (college). Feeder jobs (SRMO, Trainee-Unaccredited Position PGY4+) sit in the NSW Health Annual Medical Recruitment main round on the JMO Career Portal, but the LHD/unit selects - no surgical specialty is a statewide centralised panel. HETI's six Surgical Skills Training Networks list PreSET jobs in the same campaign. SRMO is paid at Resident award rates; Trainee-Unaccredited at Registrar rates. General surgery unaccredited registrar jobs are direct-to-employer everywhere except the QLD SET1 PHO central allocation and the WA SSR scheme.
Separate Top End and Central Australia campaigns (~1-28 Jun 2026) via jobs.nt.gov.au. Registrar contracts must start 1 Feb or 31 Aug - a formal mid-year entry point. General surgery unaccredited registrar jobs are direct-to-employer everywhere except the QLD SET1 PHO central allocation and the WA SSR scheme.
NT dates triangulated from secondary aggregators; verify on jobs.nt.gov.au.
SET selection is national (college). One RMO & Registrar Campaign covers registrars, PHOs (QLD's unaccredited-registrar grade, L4-L7), SHOs and JHOs. Round 1 = registrars + PHOs; Round 2 = SHO/JHO; Round 3 open round for remaining vacancies from 9 Nov. QLD also centrally allocates SET1 PHO posts in General Surgery and Plastics inside the campaign. Late applications are not accepted. HHS-level ads also run on SmartJobs outside the window. General surgery unaccredited registrar jobs are direct-to-employer everywhere except the QLD SET1 PHO central allocation and the WA SSR scheme.
SET selection is national (college). SA MET centralised PGY2+ EOI (up to 4 program preferences). The Surgical Resident Medical Officer program (PGY2+, up to 3 years, 83 posts: CALHN 50, SALHN 25, NALHN 8) is purpose-built with rotations 'designed to provide the mandatory requirements for SET entry'. Registrar-grade unaccredited roles are advertised individually as Service Registrar / Senior Service Registrar (MDP2) on careers.sahealth.sa.gov.au. General surgery unaccredited registrar jobs are direct-to-employer everywhere except the QLD SET1 PHO central allocation and the WA SSR scheme.
Statewide RMO application for resident-level roles; registrar-level 'Doctors in Training Recruitment Campaign 2027' roles advertised individually with rolling Aug-Sep closes. Clinical year starts 11 Jan 2027. Tasmanian orthopaedic unaccredited posts (RHH, LGH) go through the Victorian PMCV match. General surgery unaccredited registrar jobs are direct-to-employer everywhere except the QLD SET1 PHO central allocation and the WA SSR scheme.
SET selection is national (college). Feeder jobs: PGY2 HMO2 via the PMCV PGY2 Match (some competitive surgical HMO2 roles sit outside the match and are managed directly by health services); HMO3+ and unaccredited registrar roles direct to each health service. Only orthopaedics has a centralised unaccredited-registrar match; everything else is direct. General surgery unaccredited registrar jobs are direct-to-employer everywhere except the QLD SET1 PHO central allocation and the WA SSR scheme.
SET selection is national (college). WA runs the cleanest unaccredited-surgical mechanism in the country: the Service Surgical Registrar (SSR) centralised recruitment - 'ONE application to cover THREE site and specialty preferences', self-described as 'ideal for doctors aspiring to enter surgical training'. Salary ~$155,932-$208,619, 1 Feb 2027 start. Separate RMO/SMR centralised round for resident-level jobs. General surgery unaccredited registrar jobs are direct-to-employer everywhere except the QLD SET1 PHO central allocation and the WA SSR scheme.
Dates drift a week or two each year; the calendar has confirmed vs expected windows.
Requirements and rubric: surgeons.org, generalsurgeons.com.au · state mechanics: canberrahealthservices.act.gov.au, health.nsw.gov.au, jobs.nt.gov.au +5 · community rows from r/ausjdocs
Dots are sittings the college has dated; "approx." means only a month was published.
Hollow dots are hearsay — the poster was not citing a figure. A bar spans the components or years quoted; hover for the exact words.
"Cost to get on" is a name-based pick of the one-off fees paid before or at selection. The college schedule is a lifetime-of-training list at each item's own year, not one bill; community amounts overlap it and are never summed. Courses, travel and repeat sittings are the part the sub complains about.
Not shown: 3 suspected astroturf; 1 paid product under three independent authors.
Exams and fees: surgeons.org, medicalboard.gov.au · claims, prep and costs quoted: r/ausjdocs exams-and-costs collection, community view not policy · paid prep products need three independent non-suspect authors and a free alternative to appear
Scored by the General Surgery rules — whether or not the title names the specialty — highest first, closing soonest next.
"Has anyone heard back?" reports on r/ausjdocs, 2024–2026 folded onto one calendar year; dashed line is the official date for the 2027 intake where published.
8 dated reports, weekly bins
6 dated reports, weekly bins
Jobs: last night's scrape, scored by hand-written rules (no AI) · units and offer reports: r/ausjdocs, counted by distinct author · campaign windows: canberrahealthservices.act.gov.au, health.nsw.gov.au, healthjobs.nt.gov.au +5
Verbatim, one caution beside one encouragement per topic where both exist, the rest folded. Every quote links to the comment.
Yeah nah. Wouldnt do it again. I got on relatively quick w 3 unaccred years as well. As you get older it becomes more apparent the things that are truly important - your health, family, friends.
My advice is make your CV points broadly applicable to multiple areas. … You can still gun for something specific without pigeon holing yourself in that specialty - you need to minimize the number of steps backward you need to take when they shut the door on you.
Bad service reg - lots of ego, lots of not admitting what they don't know. … Some will be work avoidant from the start, others will morph into a work avoidant cretin by service reg year 3-4 as they can't seem to work out why they aren't getting interviews.
Predominantly prepared a lot with current senior colleagues who had gotten on to the program within the last 5 years. I found having structured sessions with time set aside once or twice in a fortnight (typically 45 minutes for 3 questions) to be very helpful
A PhD represents a big opportunity cost... in terms of time and lost earning potential. It doesn't guarantee you will get on either... If you change your speciality of interest it's essentially all meaningless. … Doing a PhD to get a small chance at a surgical training program... seems crazy to me.
As others have said: - look up the published scoring criteria - get more publications as first or second author - present posters at conferences - do a masters - study and pass the GSSE - practice your interviews regularly over the next 2 years - and most of all, be likeable and hard working and get good references.
Lets be serious here. RACS is probably going to move the goal posts as soon as you start collecting your points. Like rurality for example, prior to 2022 they counted all years of rurality until they decided to only count the past 3 years of the year of application. They may begin to exclude certain masters degrees…
Mal mal has nailed it. I got on PGY 5, 3 years as a unaccredited sub spec surg reg + an DRMO year before that. … I maxed the research points and did all the courses but never did a masters or PhD. What I did do was focus on what I could control I.e being able (competent), affable and available.
Jobs are pretty much determined before the applications have even closed.
saying you want to ‘do a research project’ is a very unclear goal. Saying you want to perform an audit of a specific question you're interested in over a strict timeline with drawn out goals beforehand is a much better way of going forth
Rurality. Yep. Go live in the rural areas. You might as well stay there because those points will expire. There is a 3 year expiry window. They also recently introduced the rurality point ranking.
PGY4 QLD applicant got VIC/TAS (2nd preference) offer today. My points breakdown: CV: 15 Rural:0 Reference: 18.9 Interview: 41 Total points:75.7
4 years unaccredited for subspec surg. Pgy 6. As you suggest there is little difference in CV/exam scores at the top end of candidates. There's no shortcuts here you just have to work hard and perform. … It's also a minimum that you're unanimously liked and supported by all your possible referees. … It's not enough to…
I did not apply for any unaccredited jobs as back up this year and was ready to throw in the towel if I didn’t make it this year despite having 1 more attempt as I was pretty burned out, not by the job but by the hoops I have to jump to get on.
Found out I got on to subspecialty surgical training yesterday after 4 unaccredited years. Thought I’ll be more happy, but it’s more an overwhelming sense of relief.
Due to bond payback requirements I ended up doing gen surg and am now a gen surg trainee. I can't get onto pathology now despite applying the same number of times as I did to gen surg (and I was successful in half my attempts to gen surg).
Earliest I've seen is got on pgy3 gen surg, i.e. start set pgy4. Good clinically, generally plan their run from medical school to tick the boxes (i.e. start research/skill development/extra curricular early), and are able to carry a conversation/be kind/not a sycophant.
try not to play multiple specialities at once. The current requirements for each speciality are becoming more individualised and unique, and it's difficult to utilise your papers and points for one speciality across several others (which was possible back in the old days)
1. Read the selection criteria 2. Don’t be a cunt at work, if people want to work with you you’ll probably succeed 3. It’s going to take longer than everyone else expects and you’ll be asked “where are you in your training” so many times it hurts
Make sure u check the specific rural points system for each subspecialty. Rural service as a doctor doesn't always count depending on the subspecialty. Gen surg for example, I think only counts rural service as an unacreddited reg. Doing rural internship gives u no points for GSA AFAIK.
Money. No one is going to speak up for unaccredited surg regs because doing so would cost the system more money. … And none of the unaccredited registrars will unionise because it will be career suicide. Medicine eats its young. The best thing I ever saw a colleague do was go to a regional area and work with the…
I would have focused on research/presentations much more than increasing surgical skills and experience. It was frustrating to see some people get onto training and then defer to do more unaccredited years because they “don't feel ready”.
It's a red flag to the selection committee if all you do is dream.
Focus on being a great all round doctor while spending time on extracurricular stuff that has formal acknowledgement by RACS … Moving forward, drop the attitude of “I have the willingness to work harder than any other applicant”. … sacrifices DOES NOT EQUAL hard work.
Sat my interview heavily pregnant. Initially I didn't get a training position and on maternity leave with no ongoing job lined up so my life felt very uncertain at that time … Last minute offer which is a curse and a blessing, as one boss said, “take it, it's a job and you don't have one of those”.
If I was told before I started I'd be doing 6 unaccredited years I would have thought I'm a failure, but now I think I'm probably average/a touch above
4 unaccredited years. Spec surg. Massive grind, no PhD but 2 masters. Treated everyday like it was a job interview. Worked my ass off, countless overtime, sometimes unpaid … Probably about $100 k investment in total for higher degrees on courses in total. Never said no to bosses. Was likeable but unfortunately not a…
I maxed out the points for experience and rural time on the CV. I actually had no research but rural med school, 2 general years, and rural PHO work really came in clutch for CV points. Someone influential in the college had just started working at my hospital. … Finally, to give myself some credit, I blitzed the…
Countless nights doing BS study/research/prep stuff. Doubt it will make me a better doctor, but made me a more competitive applicant. I failed one of my final unit exams in med school. Otherwise middle of the pack.
Tell them you are surg keen, get involved in the bants and share a bit of your life and hobbies, ask them how they are regularly and what did they do in weekends, a hearty good morning w smile every start of the day, rock up to theatre often if u have free time, ask for advice on getting into training (shows you are…
A majority I know were 2-3. Even after getting on most say they wouldn't have applied again. The cost of deferring/sacrificing life is too much, especially when loved ones are involved. They all say they are glad to be on.
I'm PGY5, and have done a Master's by coursework, and actively pursuing one by research, the latter for which I wasn't scored as part of our CV scoring guidelines … I also did a Grad Dip of Surg Anatomy, which I didn't find useful … I did the GSSE a bit later than most of my colleagues did, at the end of PGY3. I…
average PGY to get onto the real hard ones is PGY8. Giving up after two shots seems premature
Possibly a quarter of people get onto training as a PGY-4 (to start PGY-5 as a GSET1), after 2 unaccredited years. The average person is getting onto training as a PGY-5 or PGY-6. After this it trails off, so there would be some PGY-7,8,9,10 getting onto training, but they wouldn't be the average.
I applied four times. Twice didn't get an interview, got on after second interview. If I didn't get on that fourth application I would have moved onto something else.
4 years as subspecialty surg reg. 3rd attempt, second interview this year. Struggled early on with my mental health as I wasn't looking after myself whilst putting in heavy hours, which set me back I think initially. Every day has to be a job interview, and so much of it comes down to a popularity contest
But of my classmates, the ones who got into surgical training early (ie PGY4/5), didn’t have any research in med school.
Many surgical sub specs now give bonus points for rural rotations.
ask them if there’s any research projects they haven’t completed and want a hand with (there absolutely is)
I got onto a subspec surg. 2nd attempt, interview both times but had been grinding for 4-5 years. I think the most important piece of advice I got told is that getting onto surgical training is like preparing for the Olympics. It takes roughly 4 years from when you seriously decide to pursue a surgical subspecialty to…
Unfortunately CV and referees only get you to the starting line, from there on interview is everything … Unless your consultants are on the interview panel, their feedback is at best kind words of encouragement. Find consultants who have done interviews before … Or better yet, invest money into an interview coach.
I did 8y unaccredited and this was my third application and interview.
currently most applicants for GS SET have >8 out 12 points. If they changed the scoring system, including the total number of points to be out of 15 points, then the number of points to be competitive changes right?
I used to joke that the only job I ever got from a successful interview was when I worked at Starbucks and that really held until PGY10 or so. I worked as an unaccredited surgical registrar for about 18 months (didn't apply, they were short and I was offered to step up), applied for basic surgical training and didn't…
Revert back to anaesthetics is an interesting phrase.
Had 3 attempts. … Didn't get an interview once, then interviewed twice and it didn't work out. Was burnt out by that stage but I was preparing for my fourth and “last go”. … I tried to come back to the surgical grind and… just… couldn't go back. Fell in love with ED/critical care/all of the life outside of medicine.…
Anaesthetics is highly competitive - not “easy to revert back to” from surg
I had two interviews at the college of surgeons - got rejected both times. Took a year off, did locums in emergency in the UK, came back and did physician training - and haven't looked back. It took the rejections to make me realise I really wasn't cut out to be a surgeon. I feel so lucky to have been rejected..
I had a bunch of surgeons talk shit about me all term because I told them rounding on 32 patients on 3 floors in 14 minutes was unsafe practice. … They were all unaccredited. Last I heard none of them had gotten on the program.
Maybe his college should fucking do something. Have a few diplomas that act as cmo generators. E.g. skin cancer surgery, HITH/wound management … I reckon they could have a number of pressure valves like this. I think it would ease a number of unaccredited minds if these valves led to low 200s salary and they could tap…
1. I wanted to quit halfway but I couldn't do that to my colleagues and mess up the on call roster and staffing, especially when they were so supportive of me. 2. Am currently training in a different specialty for which I possess zero interest and am thoroughly burnt out, disillusioned and frustrated.
Transitioned to full time private assisting after quitting end of last year. Got full time regular lists from the get go but was private assisting on my weeks off when I was an unaccredited. Much less stressful and able to spend time with my young family.
PGY8 soon PGY9. Shut out of spec surg I was aiming for after interviewing unsuccessfully on my final attempt. Can’t even crack an unaccredited radiology position now. Nothing else interests me.
I got out of the surgical grind after PGY4 as an unaccredited reg because I could see the long sad road ahead for me … I think if you're going to switch to GP you have to do it for the right reasons … you can't just do it ‘as a back up' because that doesn't end up working out too well for people who treat it as such.
It's an already massive and growing problem and the most unsupported vulnerable period you'll have in your entire career. The hospital, jmo unit or college are not there to advocate for you. It is a well established elephant in the room that tertiary surgery in Australia runs on the back of service registrars to…
Left the surg bubble after it being all I knew for the first 4 years and being ‘that guy' that was on the way to surgical training. Last six months as a Gen surg reg in busy hospital broke me … Now half a year into GP and absolutely loving it.
I met an unaccredited surg reg in Mount Isa who was going to drop and do gp (he was pgy6). His turning point was he missed his son's first steps and first words. … I've met an unaccredited ortho reg pgy 9 who had 2 attempts left. … A colleague told me of a friend who was pgy 8 and failed his 3rd attempt to no longer…
Many radiology departments like hiring ex-surgical trainees as you have experience with emergency cases such as acute abdomen etc which is useful for reporting emergency cases You will need to buff up your CV to show your anatomy and physics knowledge and do one year of SRMO/unaccredited radiology reg position
Applied for GP, but then missed out because of the increased competition
Ex surgical registrars do well in anaesthesia as well. Theatre is familiar and understanding the surgical needs and perspective is helpful, as is the expected post op course
Unaccredited fodder are much better than CMOs. They are much hungrier to impress/walk you dog on weekends/hold the pager. CMO's may actually request working rights which doesn't mesh well with a private surgeon
I was a unaccredited registrar for a few years, and decided to formulate an exit plan when I saw a lot of my very capable colleagues get passed over for competitive training positions. I ultimately chose to pursue anaesthesia and ICU dual training … In a cruel twist of fate I got I to subspecialty surgical training…
I think if you haven't got on by 5th year of unaccredited you should really reconsider if is the path for you. Sunk cost fallacy and all that. Unless you really believe that the 6th year will somehow be better...
Pretty easy and cheap. I studied at the NSW LPAB (it cost me about 6k a year for 3 years), graduated, got a job as a graduate at a small firm, quit, locumed for a bit, and became a commercial barrister.
Here's a thought - if they feel that strongly about not losing people, why don't they accredit their training and have them progressing towards a specialty? … Hospitals love cheap labour. The consultants love having fewer barriers between them and their private theatres
Got on the second attempt. Changed to non-surgical specialty after 2 years. Never looked back. Thank God.
I'd recommend you read the book “emotional female”, even more so if you're a male. It gives you a good insight of an Aussie surg reg who was intelligent, hard working, agreeable to crap conditions, gave up their youth for the hopes of getting onto training, and in the end got left with depression so bad they became a…
after GSSE, RACS courses, M surg and a few years down the unaccredited surg reg drain, I'm now getting the feeling that maybe life as a surg boss isn't what I'd want, assuming that I get on eventually. But I've put so much effort into this path
Surgical registrars applying to path are the bane of the panel. They're absolutely sick of it, the attrition rate is very high with surg reg's. Done GSSE? Best not put that on your CV - huge red flag.
I always was curious that if you've been in a department working closely with consultants for multiple years, at what point can you just directly have a very frank conversation with them about your chances. … Like on attempt number 4,5 or 6 do they really just continue pat you on the back and say maybe next year?
If you're getting burnt out, I'd recommend taking some time off to recover, or you'll go into whatever other specialty and burn faster because you'll have a steep learning curve. … It's not a race to fellowship - emphasising this because this is something I wish I was told earlier.
Gen Surg. Loved the operating. Changed because: Toxic environment. Terrible work-life balance forever if you want to do your job properly. Need for many, many years of fellowship post SET. Poor job prospects in metro hospitals. Consultant job applications decided based on side deals rather than skill.
If I was to do it all over again, I would stay out the operating room as much as possible and focus on the factors such as research which are more valued in the application process.
If you get to three attempts and don't make it in, it is a service to cut you loose. No one should keep torturing themselves like that
Surgical training is a Ponzi scheme. You only realise you've been scammed after it's too late. 1. Give up the best years of your life for medical school and internship 2. Be a slave for an indeterminate number of years 3. Give up your weekends to study for exams/research/masters/phd 4. Pay tens of thousands for the…
I gave up before I even started. Immediately applied to the U.S and hopefully I match.
While some people have suggested reading Last's, that won't be enough. You need to consume it. Sleep with it. Allow it to destroy your relationships. You are not spending enough time with it until your partner screams at you suggesting you are obsessed with it.
I recently shared my anki deck for GSSE on the medicalschoolanki subreddit.
everyone is shocked when I tell them it was $4650 just to sit the GSSE whether you pass or fail. I calculated RACS makes $3 million per year if they fill every exam spot; it's just a computer-based test which recycles like 30% of the questions...
My advice is to calm the fuck down. You don't need to do everything at once. The GSSE doesn't expire, so do it first. You aren't getting on to training next year. You can start to focus on research and other cv rubbish after the GSSE.
The ATO has previously held that “surgical registrar” and “surgical resident” are different jobs and that undertaking courses/sitting the GSSE to get a reg job isn't a sufficient nexus for deductibility
Some good resources will be: - the bank - look for content trends in the questions. - instant anatomy also helps - Julie mundy's exams - the Anki of the bank (they have the relevant passage from lasts and the relevant physiology text books.) - imet notes - guy who wrote these wrote some of the exam. - pathoma - good…
wow, that was quick. A new user posting their hard luck story with the GSSE and within minutes a GSSE tutor (also a new account) happens to be browsing the subreddit. OP might want to take that as a sign.
Fine. I did it in February of internship, studied through the last few years of medschool, and then never had to worry about it again. … Additionally, early gsse will help secure reg jobs in the future, and there is good data that the more senior you are, the more likely you are to fail
This is something that not many surg people openly talk about but there is a huge proportion that rely on cognitive enhancers I.e modafinil. When I was sitting the GSSE, more than half the candidates in that sitting were on modafinil.
no point doing audit or publications without GSSE. You can't apply without GSSE so points don't matter.
Pass mark fluctuates and it depends on the cohort sitting the exam - it gets scaled accordingly. You could pass 2 components and fail the 3rd by 1% and that's a overall fail
If you're genuinely committed to surgery i would agree to sit gsse during internship. The closer to medschool you sit the better. … Be smart about it and ideally choose the sitting time during a term which facilitates study, ie week on week off nights or ED.
GSSE is not even remotely close to the difficulty of the ANZCA PEx. I'd sat and passed both.
average cost of entry to training (courses etc) of $40k, and in recent years has also required an average of 1.9 exam attempts to pass (at $11k a pop)
It used to be called the ‘part 1', if you got a question wrong you lost a mark (negative marking) instead of just not getting anything for it so guessing was a dangerous game, and the pass rate was 30-50%.
CCrISP here costs $4130 whereas in the UK it converts to approx $1650.
Typical successful application in NSW would have HETI westmead physics course, something showing competence in anatomy (doing well in GSSE would probably count), and some time working in radiology (could be IR/INR or nuke med SRMO).
Most surg keen nowadays study for the gsse in final year and sit it during internship. I wouldn't recommend this. Enjoy your time as a student. You will never be in the same privilege again. But try to sit the gsse after internship in your second year.
Having just done and passed the GSSE in Feb they have stopped giving cut scores as of this year. … As far as I understand and from word of mouth historically anatomy is 52-54% ish, path is 58-60% ish, and phys is around 61-63% ish. That being said you need to pass overall as well which is usually 63% and above at the…
The Bank is becoming less and less reliable, especially for anatomy. You're going to want to be more familiar with Lasts than that (esp thorax abdo pelvis). As someone who failed path the first time by 0.2%, I know how much it sucks to for this exam twice.
Some details vary, but RACS has the licence for the 9th edition for exam writing purposes and refuses to update for ?reasons (the exam is several thousand dollars, the excuse of money isn't valid)
We all fail - I failed my first GSSE attempt and was about to quit surg until my head of department told me he failed his fellowship exam “2 or 3…maybe 4 times - it was too long ago I’ve forgotten now.” Another reg has sat the GSSE 8 times before he finally passed.
You could buy both and see. In short human anatomy and variations are unchanged but the way each person describes the course of x or the relations of y change… 9 the edition is the decided standard. Learn another, fine but you may miss out on a few marks here and there because the exam is directly from 9th.
when I did it, it was 59 anat, 60 path, 62 phys, 65 overall. I got about 10% less on the final exam than I was getting on the bank.
If you are doing the acetheexam question bank. Most people only pay for the 30 day subscription so are doing well by the time they start doing the questions. Hence inflated site average … Julie Mundy's exams are much better at assessing preparedness.
Would estimate pass mark around 65% overall, 54% anatomy, and 60% path/phys (historically), pass rate is about 60%.
There is a huge backlog of junior doctors ready to start training that can't get on to training. The colleges can't magically fix it, they need more funded training places which comes with a need for jobs and supervisors, and exposure to the appropriate cases to get the necessary experience.
I've had a few friends recently abandon their dream surgical specialties after working as unaccredited registrars for several years. They might have gotten on this year, but then its another 5+ years depending on the program of brutal on-calls and long days. How are you meant to do anything else, like have a family?
This assumes all the trainees are equal at point of application. I don't think a gen surg trainee and a neurosurg trainee have the same CV. I think plenty have self selected out of applying for things such as neurosurg and redirected their applications elsewhere.
May be helpful to keep in mind that the acceptance rate part for each surgical specialty understates the competitiveness. The applicants are a self-selected group of candidates that have spent years moving between unaccredited registrar jobs and maxing out CV scoring criteria points, not a random sampling of RMOs…
The RACS publishes an annual activities report that is publicly accessible. I refer to the 2024 publication, which on Table Set 4 on Page 22 notes the breakdown of what percentage and number of applicants for each surgical specialty was accepted onto SET program: Cardiothoracics 22.5% / 9 General 49.8% / 139 Neuro…
The absolute state of surg. In 5 years time SRMO will become the new Ureg. Gonna need your PhD, Rhodes Scholarship and Olympic breakdancing CV points just to get on as an unaccredited.
The issue with those percentages is that it's misleading and you have to realise the context behind it In a system where Surg hopefuls delay their applications due to limited chances, it means that the very few people that apply in any given year are normally the cream of the crop who have been refining their CV…
I recently gave a talk to all of the medical colleges at CPMC, where I spoke at length about increasing competition, the future workforce modelling and the outlook and impact on the future careers of medical students and junior doctors in this country.
Junior doctors genuinely have no idea. I belong to a surgical specialty that is highly competitive and our society would LOVE to increase training spots. I am also a clinical director of a large health network. Do you think there is more funding for registrars? No. … I have written no less than three business cases to…
The worst part about surgical selection in Australia is that all the best candidates are scared off. Every potential candidate with insight and a normal personality is correctly discouraged for every pursuing it.
Having coached for SET interviews for the past 9 years I can reassure you that competitiveness for SET is not at all overhyped. Depending on what you are applying for and what year you have about a 1 in 4 to 1 in 5 chance.
Expect to be an unaccredited registrar for 5-9 years for any surgical specialty including general surgery. Training takes 5 years. Then likely 2 years of fellowship. 60-80 hours a week minimum. Most people spend about $75 000 getting their application to the point of being ready ($45 000 masters, GSSE $5000, ATLS…
Gees hard to know. I recon 50%. There are absolutely those that drop out and also those who you know will never get on (10th unaccredited year and not getting interviews). I don't think it's a case of if you just slog on you'll get on.
Bear in mind these numbers only include those who have maxed out
% of applicants successful is also wildly misleading as only surgical applicants who deem themselves competitive (i.e. maxed out CV) will apply in a given cycle, especially for surgical specialties where you have a limited number of attempts.
A number I have been told is only 30% of pre-SET doctors actually make it onto SET
Three years ago General Surgical training went from being effectively four years (registrars would start as a ‘SET-2'), to a full five years (registrars start at SET-1). The fairly easy to understand outcome of this is that there would be a year ‘missing'.
And this year all the gen surg SET 4s are staying on for SET5 in the transition from 4 to 5 year program so there's only like 20 spots nationally
The gen surg college also follows the “one in one out” model when determining how many trainees they would take in a year. So if in your year there happens to be a lot of trainees graduating, taking leave or becoming otherwise unavailable, then spots will increase, and vice versa. So someone who would be good enough…
This must be the first known instance of someone considering an unaccredited surg registrar as having an enviable lifestyle. Something tells me the author is basing their medical school experience from the ninth season of scrubs.
It's so interesting seeing all the negativity and cynicism from non-surgeons on forums like this. … I want to emphasise that there is a real disconnect in what surgical registrars experience and what reddit thinks they experience. … Most surgical trainees are having a good time. A tough time, undoubtedly, but most…
Surgical training was designed for 25 year old single men who graduated from medical school in the 60s and are happy having flings with nurses as they move around the state every 6 months. If that's a rough approximation of your lifestyle then it will be quite bearable.
Rural general surgeons tend to work within the competencies they feel comfortable with. Our old town surgeon did all the typical rural general surgeon stuff … but also put in a bunch of pacemakers and even notably once clamped a dissecting AAA that absolutely would not have survived transfer otherwise
The more senior Surg reg's in most specialties are usually easier going, as they're more comfortable in their role, skills and knowledge. More junior ones are often ruder and more impatient, generally due to their anxiety and trying to impress their boss I assume.
Your gen surg AT hates their life, and you just happen to be in it. It's hard to win with properly toxic or burnt out surg regs tbh.
Not a lot of brown nosing, but a lot of on-call and overnight trips to hospitals at the expense of my partner and friends
Most days will start at 6-6:30am and finish at around 6-7pm. … You'll be 24 hour oncall every 3 to 4 days and 72 hour oncall every 3-4 weekends on country terms. You'll do 1 week of nights every 6 month term.
I started the journey to getting onto a competitive subspecialty (spent just under a year as an unaccredited reg before I resigned) when I had one young child. … I was working 60-70, sometimes 80hr weeks in this subspecialty
As an unaccredited registrar. 630am start. Busy day followed by the overnight on call at busy hospital. … I didn't leave hospital until about 930pm at night (so approx 27hour shift all up). Had a couple micro sleeps in the car on the way home.
Let's see. Shift work and on call. Anything and everything that needs a surgical opinion in the hospital and you're the first person to be called. From confused interns to grumpy bosses. Get hazed and scolded at by seniors. Kowtow and brown nose the bosses for that glowing reference, only to realise that nepotism…
It sucks. I'm a surgical reg as well and have a similar roster. As surgical registrars we work in inhumane conditions and we are abused both physically and mentally. Try to complain and your work references will take a hit.
For subspecialty programs (ent, plastics, urology, Cardiothoracics, neurosurgery) she will end up at a different hospital every year which can be in any state. For general surgery, same ‘hub' but move every six months. Hours are 55 to 75 hours a week.
I've never seen a surgical registrar who enjoyed the lifestyle, including the completely insane ones. Ever.
Have a close mate about to step away from training for the sake of his family. … he is completely broken by the college's allocation of training locations at their whim with no entertaining of people's family.
Take the advertised pathway and add on 3-5 years of ‘limbo'. Unfortunately that means working the same number of hours as your accredited colleagues. Ie Surg around 60 hours a week plus on call and weekends
Oh, don't forget if you choose to have kids. Now they can have their lives disrupted every year as well. Enrolment is supposed to happen the year prior, but you won't have your rental until you have your contract, and that often won't arrive until the new year because HR was waiting on signatures or had no idea you…
I did internship, residency and an SRMO year at JHH and this was not my experience. … It's super fucking busy and yes the hospital is gigantic and admin suck. I enjoyed my time and I would go back to work there in certain depts
with the current bottleneck of unaccredited jobs (at least in my current state of residence- can't comment on the whole of Australia), taking a year off without doing any of the above can make your CV look less favourable compared to your peers.
They've been coming out over the last few weeks. But broadly there are more jobs than candidates so if you have somewhere you'd like to work I would call their MWF directly and follow up with an email, CV and cover letter.
I did half a year as an SRMO there last year. John Hunter is unique as it is the only quarternary trauma center with full subspecialty cover for it's catchment area of several million people. … The workhorses of the hospital (BPTs, subspecialty ATs and unaccredited surgery reg's) are absolutely flogged during the day.…
They used to but stopped doing it with the new HETI requirements for PGY2s and below. Above that is fair game. I started ICU regging midyear into pgy3.
The service reg jobs aren't often difficult to get and often rely on a person needing at most 2-3 referees. Remember that these people are applying whilst RMOs. Generally bosses are just so happy to have anyone who cares about their specialty on rotation
Accredited positions require certain hours of operating time and very strictly reviewed by the colleges. The hospitals get away by having unaccredited positions for the regs to do the grunt work like holding the phone and reviewing patients in ED.
Mid year jobs are a bit like reading tea leaves. My completely 100% speculative beliefs: If time from job posting to ad closing < 1 week, there is almost certainly a favoured internal candidate. Job being listed for >1 month from post to closing implies the hospital desperately wants to fill the job
A Queensland RMO Campaign vacancy update circulated to applicants on 4 September listed 34 remaining General Surgery PHO positions across eight health services, approximately 33.5 FTE.The campaign was described as being in its final stages, although some Surgery advanced-trainee allocation advice was still…
Yes. Very common for surg hopefuls to step up to an unaccred role in the last few months of their PGY2 year.
I can’t speak perfectly for RACS. But I would have assumed it holds. The colleges aren’t exploiting unaccredited registrars. They are unaccredited. That’s the whole point. They have no accreditation or affiliation to the college. Hospitals are exploiting unaccredited registrars.
Then they’ll just call the unaccredited registrars ‘super senior house officers’. Can’t stop them hiring residents. And the hospitals that don’t have any registrars anyway will obviously continue calling them unaccredited registrars.
The hospital system relies on more registrar positions than they can train. Service reg jobs are going to stay for the foreseeable future, at least in surgery this is a fact. Making go rebates better would be a net positive to get people into gp training, but it won't change the need for service registrars in surgery…
If your chance to get onto a program has essentially passed, I'd be quitting the public system and thinking to maximising my income through locums (if you're able to travel) - even local private hospitals doing 12 hour wars/HDU shifts, or even trying to get some surgical assistant roles. I would not hang around the…
You are expected to work together as a team, that means ensuring that between all the registrars and residents somebody answers the phone. There may be a formal unit arrangement for this, an informal unit arrangement for this, or a “work it out between yourselves” arrangement. In every surgical unit there is some…
If you are deadset on surgery and have done your due diligence then go for it. You will give up the best years of your life for exams, courses, masters, research and presentations. Your bank account pillaged by RACS and at the end there is about a 15-20% chance (anecdotally) that you will never get in. It will be…
Yes you can remain an unaccredited surg reg indefinitely. Currently in nsw they cannot fill positions and are recruiting directly from overseas. They would love a local graduate
Of course, the system can't care, and most consultants dont either. We have people approaching 10 years as service registrars and no one sitting down to say maybe this isn't for you. Easier to just remploy someone whose already overtrained to do oncall and basic procedures independently. System is broken and…
No longer a good move due to most colleges moving towards requiring the two-year RMO education program certificates, and not just general registration. If a) RACS takes this position or b) you decide after 5 years as a PHO to change tracks then you're screwed. Of the current generation of registrars, a significant…
Very common - the resident is supposed to learn to ropes so taking on call is a good educational experience. That being said, from memory, there is something in the doctors contract that says that if you're covering a senior person you should get paid their rate. I don't recall every getting them to pay that (and…
Job wise from immediate experience, you can comfortably start studying for GSSE in February PGY2, sit GSSE in June PGY2, have results in July, and comfortably apply for SRMO jobs in August PGY2, either with a pass, OR worst case scenario with a fail and having registered for the October sitting. SRMO jobs require a…
Last year was a special intake year, given it corresponds to the changeover from the 4 year SET program to the 5 year GSET program … In general, Gen surg waitlist get on. I have only heard of one person not getting on from waitlist over the past couple of years … There will likely be a spike of offers in the 2nd round…
If you’re already set on a specialty, preference it early in the year. Getting to know the regs/bosses early and expressing your interest/enthusiasm will make your eventual transition into getting a reg job easier.
Not sure about 2025 (it was an unusual year because of the small intake with change from 4 to 5 year program) but the 2024 numbers are published. … something like 80/92 waitlisted from first round ended up getting an offer.
I would even ask for 1st or 2nd term, that way you will have worked with the team before applications for jobs for the following year.
People are doing GSSE in PGY1 nowadays!
I asked the organisers at my interview how many people they expect to get on this year. They said they had a good pass rate for the exam so they expected 80-120 as a range. … Of the 13 people I know who applied - 2 offers, 8 waitlisted, 3 “no”
Waitlist has a been a good chance of a spot the last 5 years, but always have something else lined up just in case. With the new GSET program, part time training, more parental leave, more second semester starts etc.. offers coming later and later.
Round 3 offers are expected 18th Sept. FRACS clinicals scheduled for 19/20 Sept. does that mean round 3 will have minimal offers too?
concord and rpa have come out
Make two time sheets every pay cycle. … When you leave the unit and / or get on the program, submit the overtime timesheets for back pay.
Recently got on to a Surg sub speciality. I without doubt had a few very shitty years but now I am essentially certain to finish and make $1mil plus a year.
The only caveat would be that these NPs are not doing overtime so your senior set reg is likely on double their take home pay. I was $280k last year.
Just say you go into “GP land” and finish in 4 years. … Do you think you would want to go back to being a resident/unaccredited surgical registrar for a few years? Long days, night on call, sleeping on a couch (if you're lucky), asskissing, grinding papers in your spare time, all for half what you would otherwise be…
General surgery registrar pgy9 250k
Claim all your overtime. If they want someone fast and efficient, then they can get another unaccredited reg to do your job. Getting them to pay your overtime may or may not be a battle worth fighting, but documenting and claiming it (with URNs/MRNs) is a must in any case.
Income would be around 250-280k if I were to extrapolate from the beginning of the year. This is mainly General Surgery and working 45-50hrs a week (averaging 8 half list sessions a week) + occasional emergency work.
It's not super terrible though. Most PGY7-9 unaccreddited surgical regs will be on $200-250k which is plenty enough to buy your first property
Hi all, I'm a doctor working in NSW and am being offered a 6 month Urology + 6 month Gen surg PHO job at Gold Coast Health.
Worked at RNSH for a long time (non-surgical) good hospital, but they are notorious for only hiring from their only intern/resident cohort for SMRO spots.
Also recently got an offer from austin surgical pgy3.
SJOG imply they often hire surgical registrars who have done this pathway with them, which was why I was curious about peoples experiences.
Hi all, incoming Flinders Medical Centre intern in SA for 2027, currently ranking my surgical term preferences.
A surgical registrar died while travelling home from Launceston General Hospital to Hobart after finishing a shift.
I was a PGY-1 on a surgical rotation with no residents at Monash as well, it was awful, yes final yr students are helpful but for 3rd years the teaching should be left to the registrars in my opinion.
Also will be at Western Health next year and know literally nothing about it, would love to hear some thoughts about it (especially surgery as prospective HMO/reg jobs, I'm quite keen on plastics)
St George Hospital RMO association had an award for “Most likely to be found in a closet with a member of the allied health staff” - There’s a past awardee who’s now an Orthopaedic Surgeon.
General surgery No young doctors want to do it. Bad lifestyle and relatively poor remuneration compared to other surgical specialties
Save yourself and go do crit care/anaesthetics. Surgery is not worth it. Once you go down the rabbit hole of unaccredited surgical reg it’s hard to come back, the bail out options are limited and you’ve already given up so much. Coming from a SET reg who wished someone had told them before it was too late.
It's not intellect; it seems to me its hard-work, luck, being willing to move and do endless nights to please your consultants and a 'suitable' personality. If you're getting married soon and planning on having a family you should ask yourself whether the 1. The unaccredited years + rotating is worth it if you're a…
In the end it doesn’t matter what area you do. It’s mostly the same sort of thing with work. In surgery, it’s consultations in clinics or hospitals (history, examination, investigations, etc), surgery, postoperative checks, then … next. Same condition, different face. It’s more about what you do with it. Any area…
The issue is that everyone has maxed out references now so it's redundant
A consultant of mine went through the list of referees I intended to put for a subspecialty surg training program and weeded out a snake I could never have picked up. … Well I got on the training program. But had I not have this inside information, the outcome could have been very different.
At the end of the day, if they hesitate to say yes to a referral, get someone else. Personally I tell my juniors straight up whether I'll give them full marks, or that I won't. I'm not playing games after what was pulled on me.
Twice. Got sabotaged by one consultant referral on my first try. I only changed one referral on the second try, his, and basically walked in.
This "I don't care about you, what about me?" mentality among doctors in Australia is part of the reason we have such shit working conditions. Do you think that colleges treating IMGs poorly is totally unrelated to colleges treating Australian-trained fellows poorly?
Many of my colleagues couldn't care less about IMG surgeons struggling to be accredited for practice in Australia. Our own fellows struggle to find public appointments and it's not because they don't want to live in the regions.
Silly standard that never should have been in effect. Why would you assess them as comparable to newly minted fellows, when most of them aren't newly minted fellows? The majority of fresh fellows do numerous fellow years to upskill. An IMG planning on working in the middle of nowhere (due to the moratorium and job…
It’s mixed tbh I would say most are technically very good - they’ve often had a lot more operating that local trainees. But other stuff? It’s often mixed More communication issues (not just with patients: with colleagues, trainees, hospital staff), less collaboration (as in cases which might benefit from discussion…
Maybe not the time / place to promote your business mate
I did the master of Clin Epi at USYD. The main reasons it helped in my surg sub spec application: 1. I actually understood research and stats, which greatly helped in my future pubs 2. It got me a few extra points on my CV, which can make the difference in ultra competitive specialties 3. I did a subject called…
Getting into SET training is a marathon not a sprint. Work at things slowly and steadily and by the time you’re ready to apply, you’ll have all the pieces you need. People already put way too much emphasis on CV maxxing anyway, whereas generally referees and interview are much more important. And in the future,…
I would recommend taking advice from people who want you to succeed and will give for free. Majority succeed without paying a cent to tutors.
Rurality gets you CV points so it’s absolutely not disadvantageous
the current RACS president is based in Wagga, she’s an orthopaedic surgeon and she’s awesome. her husband is the state MP for Wagga too. thanks to her, you can pretty much do the entire orthopaedics program in and around Wagga, with the super niche stuff (she called it the ‘left big toe surgery’) done up in Sydney for…
Friend got onto ortho set as a pgy 4 from a regional hospital.
Depends on the college. Gen Surg has a plethora of rural points available, to the point where it would be quite ill informed to not do some rural years before applying
There was a time in the mid 2010’s when Metro North and Metro South in QLD conducted an audit of Consultant Surgeons based on overtime requests, oncall lists, correlated with carpark entry and exits.
In Mackay (which isn't even that rural) someone infarcted right in front of me and I got to intubate them, while my colleagues on a plastic surgery elective in Brisbane never touched a single patient and at the end of their rotation no one on the team remembered their name.
I’m currently considering moving to Townsville, for internship for 2025, drawn by its strong surgical training opportunities, particularly the chance to complete subspec surgical rotations as standalone terms.
Whether it's losing med reg accreditation at a large hospital - Maitland, to being threatened with losing JMO's due to their rostering on surgery - JHH, to allowing medical students (AIMS) to come in on Sundays at their largest hospital because they're so short staffed and demoralised.
It also interferes with your training by limiting educational opportunities, and prevents you from immersing yourself within the surgical culture as you’ll constantly feel like an outsider- all of which are strictly against nsw health core values.
Okay here me out here. If you’re close to getting on - record every single minute of overtime on an excel spreadsheet including MRN of patients and task or operation you were doing. Once you get on which will be about halfway throughout the year, go to medical admin and retrospectively claim it all on the old paper…
Doing part time training to get work life balance is not a great reason to be approved.
This is similar to how it works for surgical training selection in most specialties. Criteria based cv ranking, referee reports with systems designed to counter (e.g remove top and worst scoring referee reports, both consultant and allied health/nursing/juniors, have up to 16 reports), and then some form of interview…
Of course there’s bias, I didn’t say it was perfect, I said it was the most transparent. Some colleges (e.g. RANZCR) give you literally nothing to guide you on how they select and then it’s up to you to win over each hospital unit. Gen surg now needs 15 referees from nurses, clerical staff and ED, & the interview is…
A young doctor working in the neurosurgical department at the Royal Brisbane Hospital was stopped in the street and asked about his job, revealing is salary in the process
Toowoomba (rural) – high hands-on volume, broader experience + getting rural surgery term early, but less tertiary exposure
12 people, counts not rates; median 1 yr to getting on from the 4 whose start and outcome both fell inside the dump.
I'm a unaccredited surg reg, keen on plastics/general, potentially burnt out, but just very tired of the system and the worsening bottle neck.comment ↗
Female unaccredited surg reg here. I do love the day to day job, but it’s everything else that has gotten to me. Working 14hrs a day for 12 days in a row is exhausting. Trying to do research after wo…comment ↗
We all fail - I failed my first GSSE attempt and was about to quit surg until my head of department told me he failed his fellowship exam “2 or 3…maybe 4 times - it was too long ago I’ve forgotten no…comment ↗
I took time off and did some surgical assisting, and now going into GP. I figured I wanted the work-life balance, office(ish) hours, and no more constant life/limb emergencies.comment ↗
I left surg for GP with the idea that if I hate GP, I can go back to surg regging after 2 years with RACGP letters (while I would’ve still been unaccredited if I stayed), but honestly cannot imagine…comment ↗
Level: first year training, few unaccredited years. The day in the life is pretty unchanged depending on level and changes on a per hospital and per team basis. Day in the life:comment ↗
I was an unaccredited for five years and literally did not care that someone came from another state and had a position at my hospital. Not sure why it would matter? Why is someone entitled to a trai…comment ↗
Due to bond payback requirements I ended up doing gen surg and am now a gen surg trainee. I can't get onto pathology now despite applying the same number of times as I did to gen surg (and I was succ…comment ↗
Sat my interview heavily pregnant. Initially I didn't get a training position and on maternity leave with no ongoing job lined up so my life felt very uncertain at that time as I wasn't sure exactly…comment ↗
I was rejected four times across two years. Very little feedback available, only from one head of panel. And was basically just told that they don't like surgical registrars because they have left tr…comment ↗
Bruh i'm doing 12/14 atm as an RMOcomment ↗
Meanwhile I'm a PGY3 who hasn't even started training. It's genuinely fucking painful to sit watch them on instagram and compare what they do to my day to day.comment ↗
For example I've got experience in ICU, Anaesthetics and Gen med (being most senior besides cons) as well as being MET call lead prior to my surgical year. While my JMO colleague may have never made…comment ↗
I gave up before I even started. Immediately applied to the U.S and hopefully I match.comment ↗
Reconstructed from what people said about themselves on a public forum. Self-report only; no verification against any register. Survivorship and self-selection are severe (people post when things go wrong and when they get on, rarely in between). Handles are public usernames; nothing here is combined with any off-platform data.
r/ausjdocs comments and posts, hand-curated from the employers, surgery, cross-cutting, trajectories, term-strategy, missed-cycle-and-mobility, exams-and-costs, state-campaigns collections; scores as at the dump · community view, not policy
Knowledge rows last loaded 13 Sept 2026, encoded by hand from the sources linked on each panel; no AI wrote any of it. Compare specialties · calendar · all guides.