Position Overview

Canberra Health Services (CHS) is seeking to engage a number of General Surgeons the to contribute to service provision in the areas of General Surgery and Emergency General Surgery. These positions will primarily cover the on call general surgical and trauma rosters. There are no operative or outpatient sessions allocated to these positions. The appointments will be cross territory with cover in both general surgery and trauma at North Canberra Hospital and The Canberra Hospital.

CHS is focussed on the delivery of high quality, effective, person-centred care. It provides acute, sub-acute, primary and community‐based health services, to the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and surrounding region.

The Division of Surgery is a Territory wide Division and is responsible for delivering inpatient and outpatient surgical services to the ACT and surrounding region and oversees the General Surgery Unit at North Canberra Hospital.

The General Surgery Unit at NCH provides general surgery services including and emergency surgery, general surgery, endoscopy and all the public breast cancer and benign breast disease services to the ACT and surrounding region.

The successful applicant is required to demonstrate training, experience, and competence working in elective and emergency general surgery and trauma. It is an opportunity for a General Surgeon to work in a multidisciplinary team focused on providing high quality best practice care to patients and to engage in teaching, training, and clinical research.

Key responsibilities

Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following.

Under limited direction of the Unit Director of General Surgery and Clinical Director of Surgery you will:

1. Provide specialist general surgery and emergency general surgery services to inpatients and outpatients working collaboratively with all members of the multidisciplinary team to provide high quality and safe person-centred care.
2. Coordinate and contribute to the daytime and on call/after-hours roster, in conjunction with other specialists, at a frequency required to cover the roster throughout the year. This includes the daytime and on call/after-hours roster of the Emergency General Surgery Unit. You will need to contribute to the ACT Trauma Service when required and/or rostered noting that not all trauma consultants are surgeons and may require your assistance when you are rostered for Emergency General Surgery.
3. Coordinate and contribute to education and training. To actively participate in the training of junior medical staff including interns, resident medical officers, and registrars within the Division.
4. Actively engage in clinical governance to ensure services are high quality and safe, adhere to the National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards and participate in relevant committees and meetings including regular audit meetings.
5. Contribute to research activity and support junior medical staff in research activities.
6. Strive for continuous professional development and undertake research relevant to the science and/or clinical practice of the specialty.
7. Undertake other duties appropriate to this level of classification which contribute to the operation of the organisation.

About you

CHS is committed to workforce diversity and to creating an inclusive workplace. As part of this commitment, we welcome applications from all diversity groups. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, people with disability and people who identify as LGBTQIA+ are particularly encouraged to apply.

Behavioural Capabilities

1. Strong organisational skills with a high degree of drive.
2. Adaptability and flexibility to accommodate change and provide responsive services to meet clients’ needs.
3. An ability to work as a constructive and positive team member.
4. To mentor and train junior medical officers and registrars
   
   In addition to a commitment to work, health and safety (WH&S) and contributing to the CHS positive patient focus displaying behaviours consistent with the organisational values of Reliable, Progressive, Respectful and Kind.

Position Requirements / Qualifications

Mandatory

• Hold a Fellowship of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Surgeons or an equivalent higher specialist qualification.
• Be registered or be eligible for registration with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA).
• Have demonstrated advanced clinical experience outlined in a CV that clearly and comprehensively outlines the applicant’s professional history.
• Have been employed at the equivalent of a Specialist Band 5 for a period of at least three years.
• Have demonstrated their advanced ability to provide leadership to their colleagues through either clinical or administrative means.
• Have gained demonstrable advanced experience and attained such ability in the relevant speciality that is acceptable to CHS, to justify a recommendation for advancement to Senior Specialist by the Review Panel.
• Be able to demonstrate their ability to undertake duties and responsibilities deemed by CHS as those expected of a Senior Specialist.
• Be able to demonstrate that they are performing at a level consistent with this competency framework.
• CHS is leading the drive to digitally transform health service delivery in Australia through the implementation of a territory wide Digital Health Record. Computer literacy skills are required which are relevant to this role as you will be responsible for completing required documentation and becoming a proficient user of the Digital Health Record and/or other Information Technology systems; once proficient, you will need to remain current with changes, updates and contingencies.

Desirable

• Have an understanding of how the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) indicators align with this role.
• Fulfil the responsibilities of this role in alignment to the CHS Exceptional Care Framework and all other related frameworks.

Please note prior to commencement successful candidates will be required to:

• Prior to commencing this role, a current registration issued under the Working with Vulnerable People (Background Checking) Act 2011 is required.
• Undergo a pre-employment National Police Check.
• Comply with Canberra Health Services Occupational Assessment, Screening and Vaccination policy.
• Comply with Canberra Health Services Credentialing and scope of clinical practice requirements for medical professionals.

Important information

All employees are required to:

• Adhere to the Canberra Health Services Values and the ACT Public Service Code of Conduct
• Act in accordance and comply with all relevant Safety and Quality policies and procedures.
• Comply with all relevant clinical and/or competency standards.
• Be available for weekend and/or after-hours work.

What you Require (Key Selection Criteria)

These are the key selection criteria for how you will be assessed in conjunction with your CV and experience.

1. Broad expertise in general surgery with proven ability to practice competently and manage required caseload and case mix in general surgery, emergency general surgery and trauma.
2. Proven high-level communication and interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to provide leadership and work as a team member in a multidisciplinary environment.
3. Demonstrated understanding of clinical governance and the ability to engage in quality assurance, audit and service improvement initiatives/projects.
4. Demonstrated interest in teaching and research and an ability to plan, conduct and supervise medical research.
5. Demonstrates understanding of, and adherence to, safety and quality standards, Work Health and Safety and the positive patient experience. Displays behaviour consistent with CHS’s values of reliable, progressive, respectful, and kind.

Work Environment Description

The following work environment description outlines the inherent requirements of the role and indicates how frequently each of these requirements would need to be performed. Please note that the ACT Public Service is committed to providing reasonable adjustments and ensuring all individuals have equal opportunities in the workplace.