Gina Watkins

Dr Gina Watkins is a Senior Lecturer and Head of the Bundaberg Regional Clinical Unit in the Rural Clinical School of the University of Queensland Medical School. In this role, she leads clinical training for Doctor of Medicine students, delivered through collaborations with Bundaberg Hospital, general practitioners, private specialists, allied health practitioners, and community healthcare providers. The unit boasts a state-of-the-art clinical simulation lab, task trainers, clinical skills facilities, a mock ward, extensive teaching resources, and student study spaces. As Principal Specialty Supervisor for General Practice, Dr Watkins oversees general practice education in Bundaberg. She teaches in the Doctor of Medicine program, including Foundations of Medicine (MEDI7100), supports MD orientation, and participates in graduation celebrations, such as the eight Bundaberg Doctor of Medicine graduates in 2024. She expressed pride in the students' contributions to the local community and their role in building a rural medical workforce.

Dr Gina Watkins has contributed to emergency medicine research through multi-site studies in Australia. She co-authored the RESPECT-ED study, published in PLOS ONE in 2016, a multi-center observational analysis of pulmonary emboli and sub-segmental PE rates using contemporary CT pulmonary angiograms in emergency departments, which identified substantial diagnostic yield variation uncorrelated with CTPA utilization or small PE prevalence. She also contributed to the FRESH-ED study on heart failure prevalence among dyspnoea presentations in emergency departments, published in 2017, and a 2020 investigation into predictors of CT utilization and findings in paediatric head injuries across Australia and New Zealand emergency settings. Previously associated with Emergency Medicine at Sutherland Hospital, Dr Watkins holds qualifications including BSc (Hons), DRCOG, MRCGP, and FACEM. She is available for higher degree research supervision at the University of Queensland.