Central Australia specialities and rotations

• For general employment conditions, go to the Medical officers employment conditions page.
• Go to the Specialist jobs page to apply for positions.

The Emergency Department at the Alice Springs Hospital is extremely busy with more than 41,000 presentations annually, of which more than 20 per cent are children.

The medicine is incredibly diverse with a prevalence of rheumatic heart disease, bronchiectasis, chronic liver disease, renal disease, and diabetes in a young population with a median age of 34.

There are high incidents of trauma, with motor vehicle accidents (MVAs), truncal and thigh stabbings, and blunt trauma from assault. Aboriginal Australians account for more than 62 per cent of attendances with the admission rate of 42 per cent reflecting the high acuity of presentations, including overwhelming sepsis.

The medical workforce consists of interns, Resident Medical Officer (RMOs) and Senior Resident Medical Officer (SRMOs), Registrars and Emergency Department Consultants, and rotating medical students. Registrars are predominantly Australian College of Emergency Medicine (ACEM) trainees, with a number of General Practitioner/Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) trainees, many of whom undertake the Emergency Medicine Certificate or Diploma.

Specialist staff provide a supportive, enthusiastic, educational and safe working environment, and are rostered on the floor from 0730-2400 and on-call overnight.

ED Interns and Residents

Interns and residents in emergency medicine undertake a variety of day, evening and night shifts and are given three hours of consultant-led protected teaching on Wednesday afternoons. Rotations in emergency can be arranged through Medical Administration as part of a mixed rotation year.

ED SRMOs

SRMOs are employed on a specific rotation and need to be at least PGY3 with a minimum of three months previous Emergency Department experience.

There are four 10-hour shifts per week, supervised directly by the specialist or the night registrar during the evening. SRMOs who are not in ACEM training are encouraged to complete the Emergency Medicine Certificate as a six-month undertaking.

ED Registrars

The Emergency Department is accredited for 18 months adult emergency medicine training plus the paediatric log book. Accredited rotations are offered in intensive care, anaesthetics, medicine, paediatrics and retrieval. Additionally there are Rural and Remote Special Skills terms of three to six months for advanced trainees based in Tennant Creek Hospital.

There are four hours of protected registrar teaching each week and support is given to the primary and fellowship exams, including exam training assistance, which have a good success rate.

Quality assurance shifts for skills development are provided, along with support for Work Based Assessments (WBAs) and roster supervised ‘in-charge consultant’ shifts.

Applications are accepted for the whole year, or rotations for three or six months before returning to the applicant’s base hospital on arrangement with their Director in Emergency Medicine Training (DEMT) or Director.

The Emergency Department is a great place for a six-month non-tertiary placement, gaining experience prior to undertaking voluntary service overseas, or for broadening experience in emergency medicine or Aboriginal health.

Contact

For further information on emergency resident positions contact Medical Administration by emailing MedicalRecruitmentASH@nt.gov.au.

For further information on Emergency SRMO positions and Registrar positions please contact Dr Anna Fairbairn, Emergency Staff Specialist by emailing  MedicalRecruitmentASH@nt.gov.au