Careers in ICU

For junior doctors seeking to start Intensive Care training there are multiple pathways available. To join the College of Intensive Care Medicine as a trainee, six months in an accredited ICU is required followed by an application to the college.

Further information can be found at https://www.cicm.org.au/Trainees/Becoming-a-Trainee

Exposure to Intensive Care terms is possible within Hunter New England Local Health District through RMO terms at Manning Rural Referral Hospital, and Senior Resident Medical Officer terms at Intensive Care Units at John Hunter Hospital, Calvary Mater Hospital, The Maitland Hospital and Manning Rural Referral Hospital. These positions are recruited through the HNE Critical Care SRMO and HNE Acute Medicine SRMO programs.

Both SRMO programs provide access to ICU terms for junior doctors. The Critical Care program provides SRMOs with a 3 month anaesthetic term, whilst the Acute Medicine SRMO program provides SRMOs with experience as a junior medical registrar on subspecialty and acute medicine terms. These programs recruit annually each July through https://nswjmo.erecruit.com.au/

For all enquiries on ICU training, please email Dr Jeram Hyde at Jeram.hyde@health.nsw.gov.au

Please note, these fellowship programs are postings at a junior consultant level and as such are suitable for candidates who have completed FCICM (Australia) or equivalent (e.g. FFICM UK) and are seeking a Postgraduate Fellowship year. Alternatively, candidates who have completed their ICU Fellowship exams and expect to be awarded their FCICM or equivalent after completing a Provisional Fellow year will be considered. Applicants must be eligible for medical registration and employment in Australia.

Neurocritical care and Trauma Fellowship

The John Hunter is a high volume, high acuity, tertiary neurosurgical and trauma hospial. The Neuro ICU is co-located with the Trauma ICU and provides excellent clinical and research opportunities for our ICU Fellows. The units are co-located due to the significant amount of severe traumatic brain injuries that also have associated multi-trauma. Both units are run as a closed ICU, but with extensive involvement and consultation from our expert in-patient trauma, neurology and neurosurgery teams.

Neuro

Supported by our neurosurgical and interventional neurology colleagues, the Neuro ICU takes care of the full range of Neurocritical care including severe traumatic brain injuries, subarachnoid haemorrhages, ischaemic and haemorrhagic strokes. An active interventional neurology department provides coiling, stenting and clot retrieval services 24/7 to achieve the best possible patient outcomes.

The unit is involved in multiple research trials, and provides educational opportunities for Fellows seeking to learn transcranial Doppler and the use of continuous EEG in the Neurocritical care setting. The Neuro/Trauma Fellow provides clinical support to the unit through provision of transcranial dopplers and cEEG on patients with strong consultant support and education.

Trauma

The hospital is the busiest trauma centre in NSW, and the second busiest in Australia. It is the only combined adult and paediatric major trauma service nationwide, and see over 700 patients with an ISS score >12 per year, 500 of which have an ISS score >15.

The trauma service provides a multidisciplinary team approach to the care of severely injured trauma patients who require ICU, combining the surgical trauma team and Intensive Care's experience to achieve the best outcome for the patient.
The trauma service is extremely active in research, with extensive publications, an associated Masters of Traumatology program run through the University of Newcastle, and a consistent record of PhD candidate success supervised by the director of the trauma servicer – Prof Zsolt Balogh.

Our Neuro/Trauma Fellows gain extensive clinical experience in the management of complex polytrauma patients, as well as the management of severe traumatic and non-traumatic neurological injuries. The Fellowship is supported with significant non-clinical time for their research role within the ICU.

The Fellow works at the level of a junior ICU consultant, with supervision and mentorship from the ICU Staff Specialist. As such Fellows should have completed, or be nearing completion of their FCICM or equivalent qualification.

Cardiothoracic, Cardiology and Medical ICU Fellowship

The Cardiovascular and Medical Fellowship program provides our Fellows with a unique experience to develop their skills. Uniquely this fellowship offers Fellows the opportunity to cover not only the Cardiothoracic Surgical ICU, but also the Cardiology and General Medical ICU. Rather than traditional divides of 'surgical or non-surgical', the Fellowship Program allows Fellows to holistically take care of critically ill patients with a special focus on cardiovascular medicine.

The ICU admits over 600 cardiovascular patients per year, and provides care for patients with cardiogenic shock both pre and post cardiothoracic surgery. The ICU is supported by an active surgical and cardiology department with a multidisciplinary Heart Team approach which includes coronary bypass surgery, valvular surgery, TAVI, IABP and high risk PCI including on VA ECMO support.

The ICU provides an active cardiac ECHO service, with regular ECHO teaching and peer review of ECHOs. The Fellow is expected to be actively involved in performing and reporting echocardiography with strong consultant support and education.

The JHH ECMO program is run by the Intensive Care who provide Intensivist led and cannulated VV and VA ECMO to patients who require extracorporeal support with support from the perfusion service. The ICU also supports with central VA ECMO in patients who are unable to be weaned post cardiopulmonary bypass.

You will gain experience in the routine and rescue management of severe sepsis, severe respiratory failure, and multi-organ failure.

Significant non-clinical time is allocated for our Fellows to participate in research in severe cardiac and respiratory failure.
The Fellow works at the level of a junior ICU consultant, with supervision and mentorship from the ICU Staff Specialist. As such Fellows should have completed, or be nearing completion of their FCICM or equivalent qualification.

Education and Simulation Fellow (Part time)

Our staff are our greatest asset in achieving our mission of improving quality of life of our patients and embody care and compassion for their family and significant others. As such investing in staff education is a strategic priority and our Education Fellow is central to this.

The ICU Education Fellow is responsible for planning and providing the education program for our over 100 junior medical staff working in the ICU throughout the year. John Hunter Hospital has over 20 full time ICU trainees at varying stages in their training, and the Education Fellow is essential in helping our trainees with their CICM Primary and Fellowship study programs.

Weekly multidisciplinary education sessions are run within the ICU for our medical and nursing staff concentrating on core clinical ICU skills and knowledge, Additionally 12 simulation courses are run annually, as well as BASIC, Paediatric BASIC, Beyond BASIC: Mechanical Ventilation and Cardiac Advanced Life Support (CALS) courses.

Opportunities exist for the fellow to improve their own paediatric critical care skills through attending and aiding in the education of our Paediatric ICU junior doctors and nurses. The John Hunter Paediatric ICU is one of only 3 tertiary PICUs in NSW, and is located adjacent to the adult ICU.

For all ICU Fellowship enquiries, please email Dr Jeram Hyde at Jeram.hyde@health.nsw.gov.au

The John Hunter Critical Care Senior Residency program is joint run by the Intensive Care Unit and Department of Anaesthetics.

The program is the largest of its type within NSW, offering 19 positions annually.

Our residents rotate through a variety of 3 month terms in Anaesthetics, ICU and Emergency. These positions are across Newcastle and Taree, and provide junior doctors with a broad range of critical care skills, knowledge and experience. A comprehensive orientation and teaching program is provided.

Graduates of the program have gone on to successful training in ICU, Anaesthetics, Emergency Medicine, Rural GP, General Medicine, Public Health and even psychiatry.

If you are wanting to improve their critical care skills, or are undecided as to their career path and wish to try different critical care specialties, consider critical care training at John Hunter.

For more information, contact: