Advanced Trainee

There is one central advertisement for Palliative Medicine, Advanced Training (AT) positions in New South Wales for 2025.  Applicants are required to apply via this JMO ROB Recruitment platform only.

What you will be doing:

The Advanced Trainee in Palliative Medicine will provide quality healthcare to patients under supervision, while developing a broad knowledge of the principles and practice of palliative medicine and a satisfactory level of competence in palliative medicine as required for Advanced Training.

These positions will have supervision from specialist medical staff whilst undertaking learning and professional development as outlined by the Chapter of Palliative Medicine, Royal Australasian College of Physicians.

PRINCIPAL DUTIES: The duties of the Palliative Care medical officer will vary according to the particular location and context of the post; for example: 

HOSPITAL CONSULT TERM (mainly hospital consults)

• Review patients as requested by other medical or surgical units (on the same day as requested or as close to the same day as possible).
• Review the patient within 24 hours or as close to this as possible with an AMO from the affiliated palliative care service hours.
• Communicate with other units the objectives of care and assist in resolving conflicts between therapeutic objectives of units.
• Hospital Consults rotations may also involve some inpatient work.

INPATIENT TERM (mainly in-patient care)

• Daily ward rounds of every patient in the unit.
• Careful documentation in the case notes of patient progress (and tests, etc).
• Responsibility for communication with AMO about any relevant change in patient’s condition.
• Fully admitting or at least examining all new admissions.
• Responsible for ordering and chasing results of all appropriate investigations (either self-initiated or AMO-initiated).
• Discharge planning, together with patient and paramedical staff and family.
• Ensuring appropriate post-discharge follow-up.
• Supervising discharge summaries and communication with the patient’s general practitioner (LMO).
• Liaise with and counsel the family or guardians of patient as required.
• Prompt implementation of management changes suggested by senior staff.
• To supervise resident medical officers or interns attached to the inpatient palliative care unit.
• Liaise with external medical services, such as, General Practitioners, in a professional, succinct and courteous fashion.

COMMUNITY TERM (mainly community consults)

• Notify AMO of new referrals on day of assessment
• See all new referrals within 3 working days, and within 24hrs for urgent referrals
• See patients with the AMO as directed
• Liaise promptly with the patients general practitioner after each visit
• Regularly review unstable patients in collaboration with the GP
• See patients in all home settings as directed (residential homes, hostels, nursing homes) - Liaise regularly with the GPs and Care givers as appropriate to the patient - after carers/allied health/health providers
• Provide systematic management of the community case load

OUTPATIENT CARE

• Attendance at unit outpatient clinics
• Assessment of unit patients in the emergency department
  
• Enhance skills in handling problems on the telephone and deciding the situations in which this is appropriate
  
  

Where you will be working:
The appointing hospitals are accredited for core training in Palliative Medicine. Each centre will provide training in essential clinical aspects of Palliative Medicine. Some centres will require trainees to rotate to the other centres as part of their training.  Applicants should contact the responsible person/head of department at each hospital or facility to which they are applying in order to find out more about their specific training programs in Palliative Medicine.