Name: SA Health
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The Royal Adelaide Hospital intensive care unit is one of the major education and training providers for intensive care medicine in Australia and New Zealand.

Our expert clinicians and educators maximise the opportunities provided by our 48-bed unit, with a broad and high acuity case mix, delivering a comprehensive accredited training program to doctors and nurses seeking advanced training in critical care.

Medical training in the ICU

The RAH ICU is accredited by the College of Intensive Care Medicine as a General/C24 training institution.

We are one of only two major tertiary/quaternary centres in South Australia accredited to provide:

foundation training
general/ core ICU training
subspecialty training in neurosurgical ICU
cardiac ICU and trauma care, and
Fellowships (Transition year training).

We also routinely have rotational trainees and visiting international medical graduate trainees and specialists, who come to our unit to further develop their ICU experience and credentials.

Find out more about medical and nursing training available within the RAH ICU in this section.

To see current vacancies within the RAH ICU, go to Working at the RAH.

Medical training information

Fellowships (Transition Year training)

The ICU offers the following Fellowships (transition year training) positions:

Specialist ICU Education Fellowships
The ICU Education Fellowship coordinates the medical education training program and produces the RAH ICU Medical Education Report. The roles also facilitates attainment of post-graduate qualifications in clinical education and has ties to the ANZCEN Clinician Educator Incubator.
Cardiac ICU Fellowships
The Cardiac ICU Fellowship interfaces with a robust echocardiography program that can help progress DDU and other echocardiography qualifications. They are also routinely involved in a dedicated echocardiography training course (coming soon) and an extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) training course (coming soon) that are coordinated by the department.
The Cardiac Fellow is also regularly involved with practical ultrasound and echocardiography skills training sessions that are conducted at the bedside in the ICU, as well as monthly echocardiography review meetings.

Senior registrars

There are 6-10 Senior registrars in the trainee group who have a pivotal role in the effective running of the ICU.

Greater clinical autonomy and longitudinal responsibility of patient care allows our trainees to be charged with complex clinical tasks, lead roles in teaching, and the supervision of less experienced trainees.

All trainees are encouraged to have non-clinical interests, however Senior registrars are given opportunities to cultivate a discrete non-clinical portfolio, with many opportunities supported directly by members of the consultant group.

Some Senior registrar positions may also be allocated as Fellows (Transition Year), with education, cardiac and other specialty interest portfolios that can be negotiated, depending on the trainee.

Appointment to any of the Senior registrar positions is competitive and requires consideration of prior experience, clinical acumen and demonstration of leadership potential.

We believe that the combination of autonomy, higher level clinical tasks and support with non-clinical role development, provides our trainees with exceptional training opportunities that prepares them well to become well-rounded senior clinicians and consultants.

The designation of Senior registrar within the ICU may be independent of the CICM regulation definitions of a “Senior Registrar rotation”. Term accreditation can be discussed with Supervisors of Training prior to commencement to ensure that vocational training requirements are met.

Registrars

The RAH ICU welcomes registrars and residents from a variety of levels and specialist training pathways, providing a robust training program that accounts for the breadth of specialists and experience levels of clinicians in the unit.

We have dedicated sessions for core ICU topics, evidence-based medicine (Journal Club), radiology tutorials, audit/quality improvement and review, and inter-disciplinary in-situ simulation training covering general ICU and ECMO scenarios.

Registrars and residents seeking ICU rotations are encouraged to discuss their training pathway with their supervisors of training and Medical Workforce.

Access to our education program and weekly education newsletter can be obtained by contacting the ICU secretary.

Medical students

Resources

Nursing training in the ICU

Nursing Education in the RAH ICU offers progressive, contemporary learning opportunities for the development of all levels of nursing staff. The team is located within the ICU, developing a close understanding of the development needs of individual nursing staff.

The Nurse Education Team consists of two Nurse Educators (RN3) and four Clinical Nurse Educators (CNE RN2 job share).

Nursing Training Information

Nursing staff induction

Induction into working within the RAH ICU for new nursing staff is developed and delivered by the Nurse Educators.

New nursing staff to RAH participate in Central Adelaide Local Health Network (CALHN) orientation and this is followed by a two-week ICU induction period.

The ICU induction consists of a dedicated ICU induction day, supernumerary patient care shifts, specific education sessions, workshops and supported clinical learning at the patient bedside.

The induction also introduces current patient data and workforce structure, addressing the National Safety & Quality Health Service Standards, fundamentals of care and foundations of intensive care nursing, ensuring new staff have the knowledge and skill set to be work ready.

Professional development pathways

Professional development pathways are designed to provide a structure for staff development.

Read more about the pathways in place for the nursing team:

Transition to Professional Practice Program Pathway
Each year we welcome a large cohort of graduate registered nurses in their first year of nursing undertaking the Transition to Professional Practice Program. They have a six-month placement in ICU with supported education and training

Registered Nurse Professional Development Pathway
This pathway is designed with learning activities which support developing clinical practice and preparedness for postgraduate specialisation studies

Critical Care Registered Nurse Pathway
The Critical Care Registered Nurse pathway supports postgraduate qualified registered nurses with development to extend their clinical and professional practice, leading into advanced roles such as Access Nurse (Team Leader) and Medical Emergency Response Team member.

In-service education and professional development programs

In-service education program

The in-service education program is delivered Monday to Friday, during nursing double staff time.

There are several sessions each day addressing the learning needs of the whole team, junior and senior staff. The format includes traditional lecture style, case presentations, skills stations, and clinical deterioration simulation scenarios.

Professional Development Programs

There are many professional development programs for staff in ICU and Central Education.

Programs delivered by the nursing and multidisciplinary team include renal dialysis, ECMO and Cardiac ALS.

For more information, contact nurse educators:

Natalie Vinzcer
natalie.vinzcer@sa.gov.au

Gigy Cherian
gigy.cherian@sa.gov.au

Postgraduate nursing study

At RAH ICU we partner with all three South Australian universities - The University of Adelaide, Flinders University and the University of South Australia - for postgraduate studies in critical care/intensive care nursing.

Currently, over 60% of RAH ICU nursing staff have postgraduate nursing qualifications in critical care nursing.

Completion of postgraduate critical care nursing studies leads to high acuity patient allocation and development into advanced nursing roles within ICU.

Nursing placements in ICU

Undergraduate Nursing Student Placements

RAH ICU facilitates many pre-registration final year nursing student placements each year. The students are supported by a local ICU experienced clinical facilitator.

ICU placement provision

RAH ICU nursing education facilitates placements for registered nurses from a variety of metropolitan and regional health service organisations and international nurses, seeking intensive care unit exposure.

Courses

There are several courses conducted in South Australia that support intensive care skills training and contribute to continuing professional development. Numerous members of staff at the Royal Adelaide Hospital ICU serve in faculty positions including as convenors, course directors and instructors.

Most courses are reliant on cross-campus support across health networks and training sites. The collaborative delivery of courses is a key strength, ensuring attendees are exposed to a wide range of instructors with broad and extensive experience.

The courses listed below are open to attendees across the State and Nationally, with increasingly high demand.

See the links below to navigate to course homepages.

South Australian Primary course

South Australian Fellowship course

South Australian Critical Care Ultrasonography course

BASIC course

ECMO courses (Introductory and Refresher)

SAILS sessions

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Education and training