Provisional Fellow

The Junior Medical Officer (JMO) Unit at Coffs Harbour Health Campus is an award-winning, dynamic hub dedicated to nurturing the next generation of medical professionals. In 2023, we were presented with the prestigious Judy Muller Award.

The Coffs Harbour Health Campus is an acute regional teaching hospital with 355 beds, located in the hub of the spectacular Mid-North Coast. Geographically located midway between Sydney and Brisbane with a population of over 73,000 and a catchment of over 100,000. To the north and south of Coffs Harbour are endless beaches and the Solitary Islands Marine Park lies adjacent to the harbour. The area is flanked to the west by World Heritage rain forests and the National Parks of the Dorrigo plateau and the Bellingen Valley.

Coffs Harbour is one of two places on the east coast of Australia where the mountains meet the sea. Our town is well connected with flights to Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane and the temperate climate means Coffs is known for its relaxed lifestyle, coastal walks, surfing beaches, hiking, camping, mountain biking, whale watching, deep sea fishing, golfing, and wonderful local produce.

Coffs Harbour Health Campus facilities and services include operating theatres, a Coronary Care Unit (including Coronary Angiography Suite), an Intensive Care Unit, a 24-hour Emergency Department, Radiology (including CT, MRI and Interventional Suite), Pathology North, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Paediatrics, Anaesthetics, Rehabilitation and a Stroke Unit. There is also access to outpatient services such as the Ambulatory Care Unit, Renal Dialysis Unit, Dental Services and a Refugee Clinic.

Also situated on the grounds of Coffs Harbour Health Campus are the Aboriginal and Cultural Wellbeing Centre (Maam Darruyaygamba), Mid North Coast Cancer Institute (haematology, medical oncology and radiation oncology facilities), Mental Health Unit, BreastScreen, the Specialist Medical Centre and University of NSW Regional Medical School.

Our Emergency Department (ED) is the largest trauma centre outside Brisbane and Sydney, with more than 46,485 presentations in 2023  and delivered 996 babies and had more than 33,000 admissions.

Coffs Harbour Health Campus is the hub of the Coffs Clinical Network which also includes smaller facilities such as the Bellinger River Hospital and Macksville District hospitals, Bowraville and Nambucca HealthOne facilities and Dorrigo Multi-Purpose Service (MPS).

A recent redevelopment of Coffs Harbour Health Campus also saw the opening of the new state-of the-art Clinical Services Building consisting of operating theatres, surgical departments, obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatrics and an Intensive Care Unit.

Clinical experience: A diverse range of clinical exposures will be available to the Provisional Fellow (PF) that will be available to the trainee, which will meet the requirement set by regulation 37. Exposure to general anaesthetics including obstetrics, will be provided as part of an ANZCA pre-approved PF program that will include the ability to negotiate specific area(s) of interest. Examples of either clinical or non-clinical special areas of interest include vascular anaesthesia, perioperative medicine, research and QI, regional and pain medicine or Simulation and teaching.  This practice will enable the PF to complete the requirements of Provisional Fellowship training. 

Supervision: Sessions managed by the PF during weekdays will be supported by the Non-clinical Duty Anaesthetist (DA) – 4-6 sessions per week. Chosen teaching list by the PF will be supervised directly by a consultant (1-2 sessions per week). After hours on-call will be supported by a consultant on-call to the PF. Non-clinical sessions will be supervised by the Scholar role tutor or PF supervisor.

Supervisory roles and assessment: The PF will be provided opportunities to complete a PF project (of their choice in negotiation with the department) in addition to the TPS requirements as per the ANZCA curriculum, such as WBAs and CPRs.

Education and teaching: The PF will be encouraged to engage in teaching opportunities within the department, as well as attend professional development courses in the area of teaching if required to enhance the PF’s formal and informal teaching skills.

Transition to independent practice: The advertised PF position will facilitate the trainee’s transition into independent practice in a supported manner whilst providing a lot of opportunity for developing critical decision-making and independent practice. The PF is provided additional non-clinical time as well as chosen teaching list(s), in addition to managing lists independently with support of the DA as required. The on-call of approximately once per week will allow the PF to develop independent skills in caring for critically unwell patients with the added safety net of another on-call consultant.

Clinical leadership: PF’s will be given the opportunity to develop their clinical leadership capacity, including teaching and training registrars and other juniors withing the department (including opportunities to teach using our simulation centre). The PF will have the opportunity to step into a non-clinical portfolio, and will be managing caseload/list independently several sessions per week.

Clinical support time/non-clinical time: The PF will be given 1-2 sessions per week which are dedicated to the clinical support activities of research, audit, teaching or administration, to meet the requirement set by regulation 37.

What you'll be doing

The primary purpose of a Provisional Fellow (Trainee) in Anaesthetics is to provide anaesthesia care in a complex clinical environment. This will be done under supervision appropriate to the level of training of the applicant and in line with recommendations of the training program of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists. Trainees are expected to extend their knowledge and skills in managing anaesthesia across multiple subspeciality areas of anaesthetics in order to meet the professional standards set by ANZCA. They are required to deliver anaesthesia, perioperative care and pain management services inside and outside the operating rooms and to perform other duties during rotations to other areas as directed. Trainees will participate as a multidisciplinary team member across key areas of anaesthetics including:
• anaesthesia and sedation (including obstetric anaesthesia)
• regional anaesthesia
• airway management
• pain medicine
• perioperative medicine
• resuscitation
• trauma and crisis management

1. Demonstrated ability to apply excellent clinical skills, knowledge & judgement

2. Demonstrated insight and reflective learning

3. Demonstrated teamwork, collaboration and problem-solving skills

4. Demonstrated communication skills, both written & oral, with patients, families, colleagues and the public

5. Demonstrated interest in and commitment to the ongoing improvement of patient care

6. Demonstrated personal integrity, ethical practice & humanity

Need more information?
  1) Click here for the Position Description
  2) Find out more about applying for this position
For role related queries or questions contact Alicia Butchers on ***************@health.nsw.gov.au

Applications Close: Sunday 7th July 2024