Emergency Network 3

St Vincent’s Hospital is a major public hospital and a principal referral hospital situated in the city of Sydney. It has a long-standing reputation for treating the highest acuity and complex patient loads and attracts referrals from across the state as well as nationally. St Vincent’s is a teaching hospital for the University of New South Wales & the University of Notre Dame, and also has academic associations with the Australian Catholic University, Sydney University and the University of Technology, Sydney, amongst others.

The Emergency Department sees upward of 49,000 presentations per year with an admission rate of approximately 30%. In addition to the Acute Care and Consultation Room areas, there is a 10-bed Emergency Medical Unit (EMU) and a 6-bed secure Psychiatric Emergency Care Centre (PECC) and we are currently undergoing renovations to include a Psychiatric, Alcohol and Non-prescription Drug unit (PANDA). Emergency Physicians also participate in staffing the Don Harrison Simulation Centre at the Hospital.
Emergency Physicians provide on-the-floor cover for 16 hours per day / on-call for 8 hours per day, 7 days a week. The Australasian College for Emergency Medicine has accredited the Department for the maximum 2 years of Emergency training. We have special skill interest terms in ultrasound and simulation. Accredited rotations include:

• Intensive Care (6 months)
• Anaesthetics (3 months)
• Paediatric Emergency (3 months at Sydney Children’s Hospital)

Formal links are in place with Sutherland and Canterbury Hospitals for non-tertiary ED rotations. We also have a rotation to Anaesthetics at Canterbury Hospital. Some of the trainees at St Vincent’s Hospital also choose to rotate to Retrieval Medicine. Non-ED rotations available to trainees include Drug & Alcohol, Psychiatry and Palliative Care.

There is an education program that is tailored to trainees at all stages of their training. There is a 4-hour paid protected teaching session each week which involves radiology tutorials, ECG workshops, procedural skills workshops, sub-specialty consultant presentations, reviews of topical journal articles and combined simulation scenarios with our nursing staff. In addition to this, there are several other education sessions available:

• A Primary Examination program which is tailored to the individual trainee needs
• Emergency Physicians who are key educators in each subject
• A Fellowship Examination preparation program which involves practice questions done to examination time followed by feedback and relevant mini-lectures

St Vincent’s Hospital also has an active research program and support is given to any trainees embarking on this College requirement.

For general information, please contact:

Dr Nikki Woods
Director of Emergency Medicine Training
Nikki.Woods@svha.org.au

For recruitment queries, please contact:

Dr Fiona Chow
Fiona.Chow@svha.org.au