Resident Medical Officer
Resident medical officers are hospital doctors in their first years after internship, managing patients on the ward under the supervision of senior staff.
- Median salary*
- $104,000
4.4%vs last year, before tax
- People employed
- 16,000
3.2%vs last year
- Projected growth
- +33%
to 2035
- AI exposure*
- Moderate
- automation risk
- Average hours
- 46/wk
+6h vs all jobs
- Shortage status
- In shortage
national
They work in public and private hospitals, rotating through terms in general medicine, surgery, emergency and other specialties every few months. The role sits between intern and registrar: more responsibility than a first-year doctor, with a senior clinician still signing off on the plan. It is also the stage where most doctors work out which specialty to apply for.
How much do resident medical officers earn?
The median full-time salary for a resident medical officer is $104,000 per annum, before tax, up $22,000 since 2018.
Pay is set by the state or territory health department enterprise agreement you are employed under, so the same job can pay differently depending on where you work. Penalty rates for nights, weekends and public holidays, plus overtime, add a substantial amount on top of base pay, and rural and remote placements often attract additional loadings. Pay steps up again once you enter a specialist training program, because registrars are paid at a higher level than residents.
What does a resident medical officer do day to day?
The list below is what fills most weeks; the exact mix shifts with seniority and whatever stage the current work is at.
- Running ward rounds with the registrar or consultant, reviewing how each patient is going and updating the treatment plan
- Admitting patients from the emergency department, taking a history and ordering the first round of tests
- Prescribing and reviewing medications, checking for interactions and adverse reactions
- Following up test results and acting on abnormal ones, escalating to a senior doctor when a patient deteriorates
- Writing clinical notes, discharge summaries and referral letters, and handing over care at the end of a shift
What skills do resident medical officers need?
Employers look for clinical assessment and treatment, patient care and support, medication management, backed by Electronic Medical Records (EMR) systems fluency and strong written communication.
Specialist skills
- Clinical assessment and treatment
- Patient care and support
- Medication management
- Care planning and coordination
Software and tools
- Electronic Medical Records (EMR) systems
- Cerner
- Epic
- PACS
- Stethoscope
General skills
- Written communication
- Attention to detail
- Problem solving
- Time and deadline management
Is the job growing?
About 16,000 people work as resident medical officers in Australia, and employment is projected to grow 33% over the decade to 2035. That's very strong growth. Few roles in Australia are expanding this fast, and it points to solid demand for years to come.
How do you become a resident medical officer?
Here's the path most resident medical officers take, step by step.
- 1Finish a medical degree
An accredited Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery or Doctor of Medicine, usually four to six years, including supervised clinical placements in hospitals and general practices.
- 2Complete the internship year
A 12-month supervised internship in an accredited hospital, generally rotating through medicine, surgery and emergency, worked under provisional registration with the Medical Board of Australia through AHPRA.
- 3Gain general registration
Once the internship and its required terms are signed off, AHPRA grants general registration, which is what allows you to work as a resident medical officer without provisional conditions.
- 4Work the prevocational years
Two or more years as a resident medical officer, rotating through specialties while building the references, audits and exam preparation that specialty colleges expect from applicants.
- 5Apply to a specialist training program
Colleges including the RACGP, RACS, ANZCA, ACEM and RANZCP run the programs, entry is through a selection round, and training runs a further four to seven years depending on the specialty.
Ready to apply as a resident medical officer?
Whether you're working toward becoming a resident medical officer or already are one and want a hand with the next step (sharpening your resume for ATS screening, tightening your cover letter, or knowing what you'll actually be asked at interview), here are examples grounded in this specific role, not generic templates.
What jobs can a resident medical officer move to?
Moving into Anaesthetist typically comes with the biggest pay rise, worth $327,200 a year more on average.
| Move to | Typical pay change | Overlap | Retraining |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anaesthetist Anaesthesia training uses a resident medical officer's acute care and airway management skills to progress into specialist perioperative practice.Known move | +$327,200 | 79% | requalify |
| Surgeon Surgical training extends a resident medical officer's procedural skills and diagnostic judgement through a demanding specialty pathway in operating theatres.Known move | +$99,100 | 94% | requalify |
| Emergency Physician Emergency medicine builds on a resident medical officer's acute assessment and resuscitation experience in hospital wards and emergency departments.Known move | +$98,800 | 60% | requalify |
| Psychiatrist Psychiatry draws on a resident medical officer's diagnostic and patient management skills, adding specialist training in mental health care.Known move | +$44,200 | 70% | requalify |
| General Practitioner General practice builds on hospital training, letting a resident medical officer apply broad diagnostic and patient care skills in community settings with vocational training.Known move | +$23,200 | 64% | requalify |
Moves are chosen from Jobs and Skills Australia's Data on Occupation Mobility, which follows income tax records between 2011-12 and 2020-21, together with entry requirements and skill overlap. A known move is one people were seen making in that data. Pay change compares median full-time pay for the two roles.
Who works as a resident medical officer?
The typical resident medical officer is 31 years old; 53% are women, 89% work full-time, and full-timers average 46 hours a week.
- 31
- Median age
- 53%
- Female share
- 89%
- Full-time
- +6h
- vs all-jobs avg
What's it like being a resident medical officer?
The job runs on shifts, with days, evenings, nights, weekends and an on-call roster, and handover at every change of shift. Work arrives in bursts: several patients can deteriorate at once while a queue of notes, calls and results builds behind you. Doctors who settle into it tend to like the pace and the breadth of clinical problems more than the hours, and the team around them makes the difference on a hard shift.
What people like
- You see patients through. You often admit someone in the morning and review them each day until discharge, so the effect of your work is visible rather than abstract.
- Rotations show you what a specialty is really like. A term in surgery, psychiatry or emergency is how most doctors find out whether they genuinely enjoy the work before committing years to training in it.
- There is usually someone senior close by. Registrars and consultants work on the same ward, so when a patient deteriorates there is a clear person to escalate to and something to learn from the call.
- The clinical range is wide. A general medicine or emergency term brings a steady mix of presentations, and the practical skills built early carry into whatever specialty comes next.
What people find hard
- Shift work and long weeks. Full-time hours average 46 a week, and nights, weekends and on-call shifts are a fixed part of the roster rather than an occasional extra.
- Administration competes with the medicine. Notes, discharge summaries and referral letters take up a real share of the day, and much of that paperwork lands at the end of a shift when you are already tired.
- You move hospitals every term. Rotations mean new wards, new record systems and new colleagues every few months, and some terms are at a different hospital or in another town.
- The difficult conversations come early. Explaining a serious diagnosis or a death to a patient or their family happens well before you feel experienced at it, usually with a registrar or consultant alongside.
Based on our synthesis of professional-body surveys and public accounts of the role, not first-person verified reviews.
Which industries employ resident medical officers?
Health Care and Social Assistance employs the largest share of resident medical officers.
Top employing industries
- 1Health Care and Social Assistance
Ranked by employment share; the source doesn't publish an exact percentage per industry.
| Bachelor degree | 52% | |
|---|---|---|
| Postgraduate | 45.4% | |
| Year 12 or below | 0.6% | |
| Diploma / Advanced Diploma | 0.4% | |
| Certificate III/IV | 0.2% |
Will AI replace resident medical officers?
Exposure is moderate. A substantial part of the paperwork is already being automated, while the clinical judgement and hands-on care at the centre of the job are not. Hospital systems draft discharge summaries, flag abnormal results and suggest diagnoses from the notes, which changes how quickly some tasks get done rather than what happens at the bedside.
Share of typical working time by exposure level
- Ward rounds and bedside assessmentExamining a deteriorating patient, deciding what to do next and explaining it to the family happens in the room, not on a screen.35%low
- Prescribing and medication reviewsMost electronic medical records check doses and flag interactions automatically, but the decision to start, stop or change a drug stays with the treating team.25%moderate
- Ordering and following up testsSoftware now flags abnormal results and drafts a summary, which shortens the trawl through results without replacing the judgement about what they mean for this patient.20%moderate
- Clinical notes, discharge summaries and referral lettersDictation, templates and generative tools produce a usable first draft of most documents, leaving the doctor to check, correct and sign it off.20%high
Moves least exposed to AI
These career moves from resident medical officer work are rated low for AI exposure:
- Surgeon
High skill overlap (94%), requalify to get there, and a low automation-risk profile.
- Anaesthetist
High skill overlap (79%), requalify to get there, and a low automation-risk profile.
- Psychiatrist
High skill overlap (70%), requalify to get there, and a low automation-risk profile.
Common questions about becoming a resident medical officer
Straight answers to the questions people ask most.
How much does a resident medical officer earn?
Full-time resident medical officers earn a median of $104,000 per annum, before tax. Pay comes from state and territory enterprise agreements, so it varies with your year level, the hospital and how much overtime and penalty-rate work you pick up.
How do you become a resident medical officer?
You finish a medical degree, complete a 12-month hospital internship under provisional registration, then gain general registration with AHPRA. After that you work prevocational years as a resident medical officer while preparing an application to a specialty college.
Are resident medical officers in demand?
Resident medical officers are currently in shortage nationally, and employment is projected to grow 33% over the decade to 2035 over the decade to 2035. What matters for anyone entering is accredited training places, because you need a hospital post to complete the internship and the prevocational years that follow it.
Will AI replace resident medical officers?
No, though parts of the job are already changing. Tools in electronic medical records draft discharge summaries, flag abnormal results and suggest possible diagnoses from the notes, which speeds up paperwork and shortens the search through results. Bedside assessment, procedures and conversations with patients and families still happen in person, which keeps overall exposure moderate.
What can a resident medical officer move into?
Most go on to a specialty training program, and the closest fits are general practice, surgery, anaesthesia, emergency medicine and psychiatry. General practitioner pay is $23,200 more than the resident medical officer median, while anaesthetists earn $327,200 more. General practice is also the branch where doctors most often end up running their own practice, which is often where earnings grow beyond the salaried years.
What are the hours like?
Full-time resident medical officers average 46 hours a week, and a large share of that falls outside business hours. Rosters combine day, evening and night shifts with weekend and on-call work, so the pattern of the shifts often matters more than the weekly total.
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