Position Description - Neonatal Fellow
Position Title Neonatal Fellow
Unit / Branch Department of Neonatal Medicine
Classification HM 25-30 Employment Status Fixed term, full time
Position reports to Director, Neonatal Medicine
Location The Royal Children’s Hospital, Flemington Road, Parkville
Position Contact Dr Amanda Moody
ROLE PURPOSE
The Newborn Intensive Care Unit at the Royal Children’s Hospital provides highly specialised medical and surgical care to
the sickest newborn infants from Victoria, Southern New South Wales and Tasmania. We aim to improve the health
outcomes for newborn babies by:
• providing the complete range of specialist care for the sickest babies in Victoria, interstate and internationally
• providing undergraduate and postgraduate education in medical, nursing and allied health disciplines
• initiating and conducting research to enhance the clinical care of our patients
• providing information, health promotion, resources, education and advocacy for the families of our patients
Neonatal Fellows are primarily responsible for the clinical care of inpatients in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit. In
consultation with the Neonatal Consultant on service they will develop a management plan for each infant and then carry
out this plan in collaboration with the Neonatal Registrars, Nursing staff, Allied Health staff and Subspecialty teams of the
RCH.
The position allows Neonatal Fellows to:
• gain experience in a wide range of neonatal medical and surgical problems.
• develop expertise in procedural skills and basic and advanced ventilation techniques
• develop communication, leadership and problem-solving skills
• be an integral part of an interdisciplinary team
• contribute to and benefit from the educational and research activities of the Department of Neonatal Medicine
• develop skills in the supervision and management of junior medical staff
KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES
1. CLINICAL CARE:
• Ward rounds: Attendance on scheduled daily ward rounds when on clinical service is mandatory.
• Supervision: Neonatal Fellows act in a supervisory role. They are responsible for executing a management plan for
each infant by liaising with Neonatal Nursing and other Allied Health Staff and by supervising Neonatal Registrars. Once
settled into their new role, Fellows are expected to take 1 – 2 ward rounds per week to expose them to the challenges of
Consultant work.
• Liaison: In addition, they will be responsible for liaison with members of surgical and other medical units within the
hospital with whom our patients are often co-managed.
• Direct patient care: For many patients, Neonatal Fellows will directly provide care eg: minute-by-minute management
of sicker infants requiring respiratory and/or circulatory support.
• Practical procedures: Many of the more complex practical procedures will be performed by Neonatal Fellows eg:
insertion of central venous catheters, arterial lines
2. OUTPATIENTS: Neonatal Fellows may be rostered to attend a weekly neurodevelopmental outpatient clinic for the
follow up of babies discharged from the Newborn Intensive Care Unit. They may also organise to attend other neonatal
follow-up clinics or Child Development and Rehabilitation clinics.
3. ADMINISTRATION:
• Discharge summaries: Neonatal Fellows are to ensure that every patient admitted to the Newborn Intensive Care Unit
has a summary ready to be sent out on discharge. While the completion of discharge summaries is generally the Neonatal
Registrar’s responsibility, both deceased and complex patients require a summary to be generated by a Fellow.
• Departmental meetings: Ward meetings are held weekly and Fellows are expected to attend and contribute. There are
also regular Unit Management meetings and combined Consultant/Fellow meetings.
4. TEACHING/EDUCATION:
• Informal teaching: Neonatal Fellows are expected to provide informal day-to-day teaching of registrars, nursing and
allied health staff. This will often occur at the bedside rather than as part of a formal programme.
• Formal teaching: Fellows are expected to attend and contribute to the Unit’s teaching programme. Sessions cover a
variety of topics important in Neonatology including respiratory support, newborn neurology, metabolic diseases in the
newborn, nutrition, infectious diseases etc. In addition, there are monthly journal club/research meetings and regular joint
meetings with other departments including the NICUs at the Royal Women’s Hospital, Mercy Hospital for Women and
Monash Medical Centre; PIPER (retrieval service); the Department of Surgery; Clinical Genetics; Anaesthetics and
Radiology.
• Mortality meeting: The Unit holds a formal Mortality meeting once a month. A Neonatal Fellow co-ordinates the
meeting and invites the relevant subspecialists to attend.
• Orientation: When new Registrars or Fellows start in the Unit, the current Fellows are involved in providing appropriate
orientation.
5. RESEARCH: Neonatal Fellows are expected to undertake a project while working in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit.
A suitable topic will be discussed with, and/or provided by the Fellow’s mentor/supervisor. During the attachment, the
Fellow will be expected to present their topic as part of the Unit’s educational programme
6. TRANSITION TO CONSULTANT ROLE
Fellows in their final year of Advanced Training in Neonatal/Perinatal Medicine with the RACP will have the opportunity to
step up and provide a clinical service to the NICU as a Consultant Neonatologist
QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE
• MBBS or equivalent
• Completion of the Written and Clinical Examination in Paediatrics (RACP) or accepted equivalent
• Be eligible for registration with the Medical Board of Australia (AHPRA)
• If you are not an Australian citizen or your secondary and tertiary education was NOT completed in Australia, Canada,
Republic of Ireland, New Zealand, United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, United States of America or South Africa,
satisfactory completion of an accepted English test is required eg IELTS, OED, TOEFL iBT, NZREX or PLAB (required
scores are available on the AHPRA website)
• At least 12 months experience in a level 3 neonatal intensive care unit
KEY SELECTION CRITERIA
• Possesses leadership and management skills
• Demonstrates effective communication, interpersonal and negotiating skills
• Is able to work as part of an interdisciplinary team
• Is a strong advocate for patients and their families
