Welcome to RHINO

Club RHINO (Rural Health in the Northern Outback) is a multidisciplinary student organisation at James Cook University dedicated to promoting rural health issues, opportunities, and careers across North Queensland. We support students studying Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing, Physiotherapy, Speech pathology, Occupational therapy, Pharmacy and Veterinary Sciences, with a shared passion for improving health outcomes in rural and remote communities.

Operating across three JCU campuses — Cairns, Townsville, and Mackay — our goal is to inspire, educate, and empower future health professionals to pursue rural careers and make a meaningful difference where it is needed most.

We achieve this through a range of initiatives, including multidisciplinary skills nights that foster collaboration and hands-on learning, our two rural high school visits yearly to different rural communities and our annual cultural event. We also host an annual RHINO Gala Ball raising funds for charitable causes, participation in Marathon in May with donations supporting the North Queensland Cowboys Foundation, and rural high school outreach visits that encourage and inspire students from rural backgrounds to pursue careers in health.