timebomb said:
To the Australians here: what's the best place to practice to see a wide range of infectious diseases in Australia? My guess would be Darwin, given the tropical weather and the poor indigenous populations around there (but then again, I've never lived there, so that's why I ask...).
For "tropical" infectious diseases or rather, things you might not see in the US, yes the top end/NT would be my first thought. Sydney has a large gay population with a fair number of HIV + patients, so if this is your area of interest, you might find more here (although HIV is not unheard of in the top end either). There are large numbers of SE Asian immigrants in most of the capital cities, and while they should have been screened for TB and other ID, they would still provide for a good practice.
When I worked in Alice Springs, we had a large number of patients with ID, and surgical infections (ie, abscesses from untreated traumatic wounds) in the indigenous population. IMHO, you would be best off here or in Darwin environs (as you thought).