Trainee Positions At Christchurch
Christchurch
Department of Neurology
Christchurch Hospital
Private Bag 4710
Christchurch
NZ, 8140
New Zealand
Contact Details
Dr John N Fink
john.fink@cdhb.govt.nz
Phone : 03 364 0940
www :
Positions
Training Positions : 2
Elective Training Positions : 0
Fellowships : 0
Core Position Descriptions
There are 3 neurology registrar positions in the department, two reserved for advanced trainees. The three registrars rotate through attachments to the Neurology Ward team, the Neurology Acute Team, or the outpatient and consult team. The Ward registrar works under the supervision of the Ward Consultant and attends to day-to-day management of neurology ward patients, with the assistance of the ward house surgeon. The acute registrar is supervised by the acute consultant and is responsible for GP calls, ED referrals including stroke thrombolysis calls. The acute registrar attends three acute neurology clinics weekly. The outpatient/consult registrar attends three morning outpatient clinics weekly and inpatient consultations in the afternoons.
Advanced training registrars have weekly neurophysiology clinics starting with highly supervised teaching clinics at the beginning of their first year of training and progressing to greater independence as their skills increase.
Advanced trainees are provided with regular teaching and supervision of EEG reading.
The educational programme also includes a weekly journal club/educational meeting with a structured focus to cover all of the major subspecialty areas of neurology. There is also a weekly neurology/neurosurgery clinical case presentation meeting, weekly neuroradiology review meeting, weekly ward patient management review meeting and fortnightly neurophysiology review session, alternating between EEG and EMG/NCS.
Subspecialty clinics that are available for the trainee to attend include: TIA/cerebrovascular clinic, Movement disorders clinic, MS clinic, Botox clinic, paediatric neurology.
Elective Position Descriptions
Hospital Information
Christchurch Hospital is one of New Zealand's largest acute and tertiary referral hospitals. It is the only acute hospital for the greater Christchurch city with an acute catchment of approximately 400000 people and serves as a tertiary referral centre to a broader population of the South Island. A full range of hospital services are provided, including cardiothoracic and neurosurgery. Neurology and Neurosurgery share a 28-bed ward. Neurology runs the acute stroke assessment service with routine use of stroke thrombolysis and endovascular clot retrieval when appropriate. The neurology service also admits most "young" stroke patients, the remainder of stroke patients being admitted under General Medicine. All stroke patients are housed in the acute stroke unit, on a separate ward. The neurology ward has a dedicated video-EEG monitoring room and high-dependency unit shared with neurosurgery. The hospital has an on-site 1.5T MRI and acess to the 3T MRI at nearby Van der Veer Institute. 64-slice VCT capabilities include CTA, CT perfusion and 3-plane volumetric CT reconstructions. Carotid Duplex ultrasound is available for ambulatory patients within 24 hours as well as for inpatients. There are 3 interventional neuroradiologists and 3 clinical neuroradiologists. There is a close relationship with the vascular surgery service who provide a Rapid Access Carotid Endarterectomy (RACE) service. The cardiology department provides a transcatheter PFO closure service for appropriate patients. There are 2 paediatric neurologists.
Department Beds :
15
Department Clinics
Trainees attend 2-3 clinics per week
Department Specialty Clinics
cerebrovascular, movement, botox, MS, paediatric, neurophysiology
Department Meetings
Journal club / registrar education meeting - weekly
Neurology/neurosurgery clinical case presentations - weekly
Ward case management review - weekly
Neurophysiology review - fortnightly
Neuroradiology review - weekly
Department Staff
6 Consultants: Prof Anderson; Drs Duncan, Fink, Mason, Reimers, Wu.
3 Registrars
1.5 House officer
3 Neurophysiology technicians
Junior Staff Positions In Neurology
3 Neurology registrars: acute/ward/consult
1 Neurology Ward House-officer
0.5 Neuroscience house-officer (share with neurosurgery)
Trainee Responsibilities
Acute rotation: GP calls, ED referrals, Acute Clinics
Ward rotation: Ward patient management, Supervision of house surgeon, Consultant ward rounds.
Consult rotation: acute, General and subspecialty clinics, ward consults.
Active participation in departmental educational activities.
Clinical teaching sessions for medical students.
Regular neurophysiology clinics.
Selection Criteria
We are looking for energetic trainees who have an enthusiasm for learning. Interpersonal skills, honesty and integrity are highly valued attributes, as well as a diligence in executing patient care responsibilities.
Trainees will be expected to have passed the FRACP written and clinical examinations.
Philosophy Of Training
We value our trainees highly and aim to support them to achieve their goal of becoming excellent consultant neurologists and colleagues. The presentation of patients to consultants by registrars is seen as a key learning opportunity. Ready availability of supervising consultant staff is important to ensure both the best feedback and learning for the trainee and the best care for the patients. Trainees are encouraged to formulate their own provisional diagnosis, investigation and management plans for presentation to their consultant and to follow-up on learning needs identified by these clinical interactions. The advanced training supervisor will assist the trainee to maximise their clinical experience during their appointment, including assistance with the design of rotations through subspecialty clinics. Participation in the monthly ANZAN brain school programme is expected and will add structure to the training. The trainee will be expected to sit the American Academy of Neurology Residency In Training Examination (RITE) to provide themselves with an objective academic appraisal of progress against international standards.
Neurology Training In State
The trainee will be expected to present at the Neurological Association of NZ annual scientific meeting. They will be encouraged to attend the ANZAN annual scientific meeting and the Julius Brendel Trust annual Neurology meeting (held in Auckland).
Other Information
Christchurch not only offers the trainee an excellent clinical and academic experience but also an enviable lifestyle. The 'small city' size and simple geography offers a relaxed family-friendly living environment with affordable housing and easy transportation. The city is flanked by the ocean and hills providing immediate access to a multitude of recreational activites with the bigger mountains only an hour away by car.
