North Canberra Hospital (NCH), formerly Calvary Public Hospital Bruce, and Clare Holland House are now run and operated by Canberra Health Services (CHS). This is a significant milestone as the ACT Government moves towards delivering a new billion-dollar hospital on Canberra’s Northside.

The new Northside Hospital will be built on the existing Calvary Hospital campus in Bruce. It will be a modern, state-of-the-art hospital for patients, visitors and its workforce and will provide more beds and increased services. Until then, it's business as usual at the NCH, and we'll keep providing high-quality care to our patients and community.

An exciting opportunity exists for an experienced staff specialist to take their career to the next level as the Unit Director of General Medicine for a tenure of three years with possible extension to five years. This position is a temporary part time position at 0.4 FTE.

The director engages with medical, nursing, allied health, and support staff to ensure that safe, expert and compassionate care is delivered to patients within overarching departments including but not limited to ED, ICU, CCU, medical and surgical services within NCH.

The position holder is expected to operate within the Public Sector Management Act (1994), the ACT Public Service Code of Conduct and the professional requirements specified by the appointee’s Specialist College.

1. Provide direction for and contribute to evidence based policy development, planning and clinical standards for the General Medicine department.
2. Provide expertise and apply medical knowledge and experience in the diagnosis, investigation and treatment of ill patients.
3. Ensure general medicine services are regularly reviewed and evaluated through programmed safety and quality improvement activities.
4. Provide leadership to support staff to consistently deliver services of a high quality that aim to deliver individual excellence and compassion in the patient and client experience.
5. Develop strategies and processes that actively partner with consumers and carers in the planning, delivery, evaluation, reporting and improvement of general medicine services.
6. Initiate and participate in professional research activities and actively support clinical teaching and continuing professional development opportunities for medical, nursing and allied health clinicians within the general medicine department.
7. In consultation and consensus with the clinical stream management, manage organisational resources to comply with financial imperatives, effective and efficient staffing levels, administrative and quality data collection requirements and patient safety and quality requirements including compliance with the National Standards for Safety and Quality in Healthcare.
8. Ensure all staff are aware of the need for and actively ensure the efficacious use of all hospital resources.
9. Undertake other duties appropriate to this level of classification which contribute to the operation of the organisation.

• Collaborative effectively with internal stakeholders to strengthen inter unit relationships, supporting improved between units and enhance patient flow and appropriate disposition of patients.
• Apply contemporary evidence based practice and research to ensure service delivery meets the highest professional standards, as guided by the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP).
• Develop and maintain productive partnerships with external agencies to support service delivery and health promotion initiatives.
• Demonstrate adaptability and flexibility, responding proactively to change and ensure services are patient centred and responsive to evolving needs.
• Applies critical thinking skills, using evidence and clinical judgement to inform decision making and draw robust conclusions.
• Communicate effectively and maintain professional networks across Canberra Health Services and with external stakeholders.
• Work collaboratively within multi-disciplinary and management teams and adapt quickly in a complex and dynamic environment.
• Exhibit strong organisational skills and initiative to deliver outcomes.
• Maintain a strong understanding of quality and safety principles, ensuring delivery of safe, and exceptional care.

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

Essential

• Registration with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA), with no conditions, undertakings, or reprimands.
• Hold a Fellowship of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Physicians (FRACP) or an equivalent higher specialist qualification
• Not be the subject of an unresolved scope of clinical practice review of by Medical Dental Appointments Advisory Committee or a current inquiry by AHPRA.

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.

For Senior Specialist we will also expect that you:

Essential

• Have completed at least 12 months of advanced training in General Medicine and be recognised as a General Medicine specialist by Services Australia to claim MBS items.
• High level clinical skills and expertise and a demonstrated commitment to continuing professional development.
• Experience supervising and teaching of medical, nursing and allied health professional staff.
• Research experience

Desirable

• Experience in successfully leading a multidisciplinary General Medicine unit.

• Pre-employment National Police Check.
• Comply with Canberra Health Services Occupational Assessment, Screening and Vaccination policy.
• Comply with Canberra Health Services Medical and Dental Appointments Advisory Committee (MDAAC) credentialing and scope of clinical practice requirements for medical professionals.

For Senior Staff Specialist we will also expect that you:

1. Have demonstrated advanced clinical experience outlined in a Curriculum Vitae (CV) that clearly and comprehensively outlines the applicant’s professional history.
2. Have been employed at the equivalent of a Specialist Band 5 for a period of at least three years.
3. Have demonstrated their advanced ability to provide leadership to their colleagues through either clinical or administrative means.
4. Have gained demonstrable advanced experience and attained such ability in the relevant specialty that is acceptable to CHS, to justify a recommendation for advancement to Senior Staff Specialist by the Review Panel.
5. Be able to demonstrate their ability to undertake duties and responsibilities deemed by CHS as those expected of a Senior Staff Specialist.
6. Be able to demonstrate that they are performing at a level consistent with this competency framework.

Important information

• 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. - Requirements for fractional on-call will be subject to clinical operational requirements and will be negotiated at the time of appointment on an individual basis.
• Approval for second job will need to be submitted annually. Commitment to second job must not impact on the agreed clinical duties of the specialist at Canberra Hospital.
• Adherence to agreed attendance hours including agreement to annual job planning for clinical operational requirements is required.

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.

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

1. Experience in successfully leading a multidisciplinary General Medicine unit.
2. High level clinical skills and expertise and a demonstrated commitment to continuing professional development.
3. Demonstrated commitment to supervision and teaching of Medical, Nursing and Allied Health professional staff.
4. Demonstrated research experience.
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.

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.

Administrative	Frequency
Telephone use	Frequently
General computer use	Frequently
Extensive keying/data entry	Frequently
Graphical/analytical based	Occasionally
Sitting at a desk	Frequently
Standing for long periods	Occasionally

Psychosocial demands	Frequency
Distressed People e.g. Emergency or grief situations	Occasionally
Aggressive & Uncooperative People e.g. drug / alcohol, dementia, mental illness	Occasionally
Unpredictable People e.g. Dementia, mental illness, head injuries	Occasionally
Restraining e.g. involvement in physical containment of clients/consumers	Occasionally
Exposure to Distressing Situations e.g. Child abuse, viewing dead / mutilated bodies; verbal abuse; domestic violence; suicide	Occasionally

Physical demands	Frequency
Distance walking (large buildings or inter-building transit)	Occasionally
Working outdoors	Never

Manual handling	Frequency
Lifting 0 - 9kg	Occasionally
Lifting 10 - 15kg	Occasionally
Lifting 16kg+	Never
Climbing	Never
Running	Never
Reaching	Occasionally
Kneeling	Never
Foot and leg movement	Occasionally
Hand, arm and grasping movements	Occasionally
Bending/squatting	Occasionally
Bend/Lean Forward from Waist/Trunk twisting	Never
Push/pull	Occasionally
Sequential repetitive movements in a short amount of time	Never

Travel	Frequency
Frequent travel – multiple work sites	Occasionally
Frequent travel – driving	Occasionally

Specific hazards	Frequency
Working at heights	Never
Exposure to extreme temperatures	Never
Operation of heavy machinery e.g. forklift	Never
Confined spaces	Never
Excessive noise	Occasionally
Low lighting	Occasionally
Handling of dangerous goods/equipment e.g. gases; liquids; biological.	Never
Slippery or uneven surfaces	Never