St Vincent's Mental Health (or Inner East Mental Health Service) provides psychiatric services to people who are aged between 16 and 65 and living in the cities of Yarra and Boroondara.
You will have the opportunity to undertake a non academic or academic pathway. The academic pathway includes credits towards a postgraduate degree.
The Anaesthetic rotation will include but not limited to conducting systematic patient assessment skills, airway management, different anaesthetic techniques and haemodynamic monitoring related to cardiac and respiratory function. Support from education, specialised nurses and learning packages will reinforce your knowledge and skills in both Anaesthetics and Post Anaesthetic Care Unit. The PACU consists of an 18 bay, high acuity unit that provides immediate post-operative care for patients following surgery. During this rotation you be exposed to skills including but not limited to systematic patient assessment, airway management, early recognition of post-operative complications, pain and post op nausea and vomiting management and haemodynamic monitoring in all surgical specialities.
A 28 bed ward located across the 6 floor, patients are admitted for a variety of conditions, including acute leukaemia, lymphoma, myeloma, primary and metastatic tumour disease, autologous stem cell transplantation, palliation and islet cell transplantation.
The Cardiology unit - 4 West - is an 18-bed ward that comprises 6 CCU beds and 12 Cardiology/Respiratory beds. The ward specialises in cardiology patients who have undergone coronary angioplasty, post-acute myocardial infarction, unstable angina, endocarditis, heart failure, arrhythmia management and pacemaker insertion. We also care for respiratory patients with exacerbation of chronic conditions including asthma and COPD, sometimes needing non-invasive ventilation.
The Cardiothoracic Unit - 4 East - is a 20-bed ward with 4 Respiratory medicine beds. The patient mix includes cardiac patients from the Intensive Care Unit that may have temporary cardiac pacing. Patients are admitted from home for procedures such as CAGs, valve replacement, PPM insertions and thoracic surgery including VATs pleurodesis, lobectomies and pneumonectomies. All the beds on this unit have cardiac monitoring, as patient conditions can change quickly, so assessment skills will become refined
The Cardiac Investigations Unit (CIU) delivers a range of diagnostic and interventional procedures. Core services within the Cardiac Catheterisation Laboratory (CCL) include coronary angiography, percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), structural heart interventions, and cardiac device implantation. The CIU operates two Cath Labs, running Monday to Friday for inpatient, elective outpatient, and urgent procedures. An after-hours emergency service is provided via an on-call rostered team.
Elective patients are typically admitted and discharged through the Day Procedures Unit (DPU). Patients undergoing PCIs, most device implantations, or those with complex conditions are admitted to 4 West Cardiology for post-procedure care.
St Vincent’s at Home (SVAH) provides multi-disciplinary home based care under Hospital in the Home (HITH) and District Nursing (DN). The program aims to offer consumers the choice to receive care in their home, whilst supporting access and flow from acute, subacute and community. The program operates seven days per week and receives referrals from all areas of SVHM and community providers.
In the PSP program, you will be placed within the District Nursing stream.
St Vincent’s Correctional Health Service provides acute medical, surgical and psycho-social care to prisoners in Victoria, through arrangements with Justice Health. The Correctional Health Service operates from two locations; the St Vincent's campus in Fitzroy - St Augustine's, Port Phillip Prison at Laverton. Within these facilities, St. Vincent's Correctional Health employs a wide range medical, nursing, medical professional and support services staff. The St. Vincent's campus provides a ten-bed, maximum security in-patient unit, called St. Augustine's and offers state-wide tertiary services to Victorian prison population.
In the PSP program, you will be placed within the inpatient St. Augustine’s unit, located at SVHM Fitzroy.
St Vincent’s Nephrology Service provides a full range of dialysis services for patients experiencing acute and chronic renal failure. It caters for a wide range of patient needs including acute, satellite and home services, as well as pre-dialysis assessment and education and work up for transplantation.
On-site dialysis is provided at St Vincent’s Hospital on the Park, and St George’s, Kew. The service also offers supportive care for St Vincent’s & Mercy Private and Peter McCallum Cancer Centre (PMCC) and supports satellite dialysis services in Sale, Werribee, Warrnambool, Swan Hill, Kyabram and Shepparton.
The main Dialysis Unit is a 15-chair community facility where you will appreciate the role and importance kidneys play as a major body system.
The Dialysis Unit also has a Home Therapies Unit –the teaching for both home haemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis is undertaken in the community unit and at home.
You will have the opportunity to spend time in the acute Dialysis Unit in the inpatient building and gain experience with dialysis access, education, sterile techniques and state-of-the-art dialysis technology.
The Emergency Department is a challenging, dynamic learning environment with a great variety of patient presentations. It has 38 cubicles including resuscitation, acute, fast track, short stay and new mental health hub. There is a strong emphasis on team work and being a member of a multidisciplinary team. During your rotation in the emergency department it is anticipated that you will develop strong assessment skills, learn to prioritise care and work as part of a multidisciplinary team.
The Department of Critical Care Medicine encompasses the Intensive Care and High Dependency Units, totalling 19 critical care beds. In this challenging and dynamic learning environment you will care for patients requiring high levels of organ support and monitoring. During your rotation you will develop strong assessment skills and sound clinical reasoning. Additional clinical services (such as the ICU Liaison Service and Donate Life) and in house non-clinical services (such as Research and Quality Improvement).
This weekday only rotation involves the areas of Medical Imaging, CMMI, MRI and Angiography. Nursing experience and education incorporates department competencies, and patient care from pre-assessment through to procedure and recovery care. You work alongside radiographers and doctors to perform procedures such as biopsies, drainages, cardiac stress tests and lumbar punctures. Learning is well supported in this multi-disciplinary team, with opportunities to develop clinical and organisational skills in patient-focused nursing. You’ll be supported in Medical Imaging, with the option of a second rotation to the Angiography suite, and you’ll learn how your skills as a surgical and medical nurse combine, your powers as a scrub and scout nurse entwine and improve your communication, consultation skills with multiple craft groups in this tight knit department where consultants work alongside nurses to achieve a better patient outcome.
10 West is a 24-bed, acute surgical ward, with facilities for monitoring epilepsy. Common surgical procedures include craniotomies, tumour resections, spinal surgery, drainage of haemorrhages, and clipping of aneurysms. The nursing is challenging, requires a multidisciplinary approach and learning is supported by ward based education sessions. The neurosciences teams are committed to the professional development of nursing staff.
The Operating suite consists of 12 theatres and performs more than 9000 operations per year. During this rotation you may rotate through each specialty theatre and develop skills in the roles of both an instrument and circulating nurse role. You will be involved in the planning and preparation for surgical procedures ensuing the appropriate instruments, equipment and consumables are available. Skills will involve care and management of instruments, maintain aseptic techniques, developing a surgical conscience, assisting the surgeon with procedures and gain great knowledge of anatomy. Dexterity, good organisational skills and teamwork are crucial in this environment.