Trainee Positions At The Alfred Hospital

The Alfred Hospital
Commercial Rd
Melbourne
VIC, 3004
Australia

Contact Details

Prof Helmut Butzkueven
helmut.butzkueven@monash.edu
Phone : 0414881494
www :

Positions

Training Positions : Five (including one at Cabrini Hospital)
Elective Training Positions : 10 (see below)
Fellowships : 10 (see below)

Core Position Descriptions
The advanced trainees have 12 week rotations in Stroke, General Neurology,
epilepsy/consults, subacute neurology/Caulfield Hospital and a further 3 months at Cabrini Hospital doing stroke and general neurology. The Stroke registrar has one stroke review clinic, one TIA clinic and one neurophysiology session per week. The Neurology registrar has two neurology clinics and a neurophysiology session per week. The Epilepsy/consults registrar has one general neurology clinic and one epilepsy clinic per week. Trainees are encouraged to attend the other sub-specialty clinics where possible (movement disorders, headache, pain and MS, Memory, Neuro-genetics , Ataxia clinics).
The 3 month rotation at Cabrini Hospital has been accredited for General Neurology training and encompasses inpatient and outpatient neurology, electrophysiology and EEG reporting. This rotation will allow attendance at the Wednesday morning academic meeting. There are also two clinics per week: Neuro-ophthalmology and Neuro-otology. See Cabrini Hospital site for further details regarding this position. All registrars will participate in an after hours on call roster at the Alfred site (1 in 6 rotation).

Elective Position Descriptions
Fellowship/Elective position in Movement Disorders/Electrophysiology (not in the match). This will include training in Botox treatment, and participation in DBS.
Fellowship in Epilepsy in with time spent at Alfred Hospital and Royal Melbourne Hospital (not in the match)
Headache-Movement Disorders Fellowship. This will include treatment of movement disorders and migraines.
Multiple Sclerosis-Neuroimmunology Fellowship.
Neuroopthalmology Fellowship.
Stroke Fellowship.
Neurosleep Fellowship (accredited for sleep fellowship training by ASA).


Hospital Information

The Alfred Hospital, 4 km south of the Melbourne CBD, is a 700 bed acute medical and surgical tertiary hospital, with an additional 90 place elective centre and a 50 bed Psychiatry inpatient Unit on site. The Alfred has a high concentration of state-wide services, including the larger of the two State Trauma Services, HIV Unit, Burns Unit, Heart-Lung Transplant Service, Cystic Fibrosis Service, and Haemophilia Service. Due to the large number of quaternary services, the hospital's ICU is extensive (48 beds).
Within the Alfred Healthcare Network, The Alfred is associated with Caulfield Hospital, where a range of neurorehabilitation, geriatric and psychogeriatric services are provided. The attached AMREP (Alfred Medical Research and Education Precinct) encompasses the Baker Medical Research Institute, the MacFarlane Burnet Research Institute, several departments of Monash University, and the Trauma Institute as well as a number of smaller research groups.

Cabrini Hospital, about 15 minutes drive from the Alfred, is one of the two largest stand-alone private hospitals in Melbourne. It has a large and vigorous Neurology and Neurosurgery service, including electrophysiology and neuroradiology. Many of the Afred VMOs have their private practices at Cabrini.

Department Beds :
The hospital does not recognise the concept of Unit bed numbers, and Neurology inpatient numbers therefore vary according to demand, with an average of about six inpatients.The Stroke Service is geographically located adjacent to the Neurology Unit.

Department Clinics
Two general neurology clinics per week (one new patient; one review). One Stroke clinic per week.

Department Specialty Clinics
Memory Clinic (weekly, at CGMC); Neuro-otology Clinic (as part of Otology Clinic) weekly; Epilepsy Clinic three weeks in four; Neurogenetics fortnightly; Movement Disorders weekly; Multiple Sclerosis fortnightly.

Department Meetings
The Unit holds weekly Grand Rounds, with case discussions/literature reviews by the Neurology Advanced Trainees. A weekly Neuroradiology Review session is held in conjunction with the Neuroradiologist. There is a monthly joint meeting with the Neurosurgical Unit, at which the Advanced Trainees present alternately with one of the Neurosurgery Registrars. There is a monthly Neuropathology Review session, a monthly Movement Disorders Videotape Review session, and a monthly Video EEG Review session. In addition, staff are encouraged to attend the General Medical Grand Rounds weekly, at which each Unit presents once or twice per year and is audited biennially.

Department Staff
Prof. Terrance O'Brien (Director of Neurosciences, Epileptologist)
A/Prof. Richard Stark (Deputy director of Neurology; General Neurology and Headache)
Adjunct Professor Geoffrey Cloud (Director of Stroke medicine, Stroke consultant)
Dr. Bruce Day (Clinical Neurophysiology)
Dr. John Waterston (Neuro-otology)
Dr. Mark Faragher (Neurophysiology)
A/Prof. David Williams (Movement Disrders)
Dr. Mark King (Epilepsy)
Dr. Olga Skibina (MS)
Dr Elspeth Hutton (Peripheral neuropathy, pain neurology, headache)
Dr Kelly Bertram (Movement disorders and stroke neurologist)
Dr Jorge Zavala (Stroke neurologist)
Dr Gary Yip (Stroke neurologist and general medicine)
A/Prof. Peter Hand (Stroke)
Prof. Dominic Thyagarajan (Movement disorders and general neurology)
Dr Will Lee (Movement Disorders
Dr Cassie Nesbit (Multiple Sclerosis)
Prof. Helmut Butzkueven (MSNI)
A/Prof. Anneke Van Der Walt (MSNI and Neuroopthalmology)
Prof. Owen White (Neuroopthalmology)
Dr. Trudy Cheng (Headache)
Dr. Piero Perucca (Epilepsy)
Dr. Sandra Petty (Epilepsy)
Dr. Anita Vinton (Epilepsy)
Dr. Richard Blaze (Movement Disorders)
Dr. Peter Batchelor (Headache and Movement Disorders)
Dr. David Szmulewicz (Neurodegenerative diseases/ataxia/neurootology)
Dr. Luke Chen (Neurootology)

Junior Staff Positions In Neurology
Junior staff positions in Neurology are Neurology JRMO x2 (2nd and 3rd Year), Stroke Intern (1st year), and Neurology/Endocrinology SRMO/junior registrar (3rd/4th year; 1/2 time in Neurology).

Trainee Responsibilities
The Advanced Trainees are responsible for organising the Inpatient Admission lists, supervising the Neurology RMO, Stroke Intern and Final Year student selectives (Trainee Interns) as appropriate, attending the General Neurology Clinics / Stroke Clinic weekly, presenting cases and literature reviews at the Neurology Grand Rounds and joint Neurosurgical meetings, providing continuing education to Nursing staff on the Neurology ward, participating in the multidisciplinary ward meetings with Allied Health personnel, and seeing ward and Emergency Department referrals on 2 days per week prior to review with the Consultant. (The referral load is steady, as one would expect in a hospital with so many State-wide Services, with 2 -3 referrals per day not uncommon .) The advanced trainees are each on call for Neurology and Stroke Services after hours one weekend in four (including Friday night), and one week night in three/four. (The fourth weekend is covered by the Neurology/Stroke SRMO/junior registrar).

Selection Criteria
Applicants must have passed the FRACP part 1 examination, and must have been approved for advanced training in Neurology by a State (or, since the formation of ANZAN, presumably New Zealand) Advanced Training Committee. The Unit aims to recruit the most talented trainees, and does not favour "local" applicants, or second year trainees, over others. The Unit is open to the possibility of part-time training, and will therefore consider applications from pairs of candidates wishing to job share. Such applicants are advised to discuss this option with Prof. Storey well ahead of the matching date, as some methods of job division will fit more easily with the Unit weekly timetable than others.

Philosophy Of Training
The Unit is committed to the principle that Trainees should be exposed to as many styles of neurological thought and practice as possible within the core training years, and that therefore Trainees should not spend more than 12 months in any one Unit, in order to provide the widest possible breadth of core training experience. Trainees are actively encouraged to attend relevant courses (Registrars Training weekend, Sydney Neuropathology course, Neurovision weekend, EEG course, etc.), while attendance at the monthly National Brain School hook-up and the complementary Melbourne-wide Advanced Training tutorial program, as well as at the AAN Annual Scientific meeting, is considered mandatory. In addition to monthly Unit Neuropathology Review sessions, the hospital's Neuropathologist (Professor Catriona McLean) is willing to give tutorial sessions for the Advanced Trainees throughout the year, if requested. Where time allows, the Trainees are also encouraged to attend the special clinics listed above.

Neurology Training In State
Weekly state-based advanced trainee lectures and monthly National Brain School lectures.

Other Information
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