Trainee Positions At John Hunter Hospital
John Hunter Hospital
Locked Bag #1
Hunter Region Mail Centre NSW
NSW, 2310
Australia
Contact Details
Dr Elizabeth Pepper
elizabeth.pepper@health.nsw.gov.au
Phone : (02) 4921 3490
www :
Positions
Training Positions : Three
Elective Training Positions :
Fellowships : Two (Stroke) and One (MS)
Core Position Descriptions
To provide for the core trainee a balance of training across general neurology including epilepsy, stroke, movement disorders, multiple sclerosis, vestibular neurology, headache, and neurodegenerative conditions, including PD, MND and HD, as well as clinical neurophysiology. This includes the opportunity to "act up" as a consultant (under supervision) and participate in clinics in general neurology, Stroke, MS, movement disorder, epilepsy, vestibular disorders and clinical neurophysiology, and to participate in out-of-hours rosters in General Neurology and Stroke. The core trainee will also gain experience in stroke patient selection for thrombolysis, on site clot retrieval and various stroke trials at one of the most active stroke centres in the country.
Elective Position Descriptions
Stroke Elective : The John Hunter Hospital is the region’s only comprehensive stroke centre and has had one of the highest stroke intervention rates in the world. The Stroke Fellow will gain extensive experience in patient assessment and selection for acute therapy, and by the end of the year will be extremely confident in stroke thrombolysis and periprocedural clot retrieval management. Further, our centre is a leader in advanced imaging for acute stroke – the trainee will become extremely confident in assessment of multimodal CT and MRI. With an onsite interventional neuroradiology service, there will also be exposure to acute endovascular procedures for acute stroke and possible opportunity to gain experience in diagnostic catheter angiography. We also have a daily rapid referral TIA clinic with excellent access to multimodal CT and MR, as well as neurovascular ultrasound (which the trainee can also learn to perform and interpret). The Fellow will receive excellent supervision/education from a team of specialist Stroke Neurologists (including 2 interventional Neurologists). There are ample opportunities for research – recent Stroke Fellows have published their research work at John Hunter in Annals of Neurology, Brain, and Neurology. The Fellow will ‘run’ the Acute Stroke Unit (with support where needed from the Consultants) so will gain extensive experience in acute and post-acute stroke managment, including an active role in secondary stroke prevention and rehabilitation. Telehealth stroke management is an ongoing service, assisting/overseeing thrombolysis at HNE hospitals, as well as a fast-evolving 'hub-and-spoke' model for patient retrieval to John Hunter, and several of our stroke neurologists involved in the NSW statewide telestroke service.
Contact Dr Carlos Garcia Esperon
Email: Carlos.GarciaEsperon@hnehealth.nsw.gov.au
MS Elective: The MS Fellow will predominantly help manage patients referred for diagnosis and management of demyelinating illness, including MS and NMO. The MS Clinic at JHH has a current registration of almost 1000 patients who reside in the Central Coast, Newcastle, Hunter Valley, near and mid-North Coast, as well as New England and Northern NSW to the Queensland Border.
The MS Clinic has two specialist nurses, as well as interested Allied Health Staff providing sub-specialty care. In addition, the MS Clinic is heavily invested in both basic and clinical research. Currently there are studies into basic mechanisms of demyelination, clinical course of demyelinating illness, clinical care, and drug trials. There are multiple collaborations across Australia, Europe and the US.
Contact: Dr Jeannette Lechner-Scott
Email: Jeannette.Lechner-Scott@hnehealth.nsw.gov.au
Hospital Information
The John Hunter Hospital (JHH) is situated in New Lambton/Rankin Park area, 12-15 minutes drive west of central Newcastle. It has approximately 400 beds, and in combination with Rankin Park Hospital, the Mater Misericordia Hospital and Royal Newcastle Centre treats patients in all the major medical, surgical and obstetric disciplines. John Hunter Hospital is the only public hospital providing neurosurgical intervention in northern NSW, and has the last large public hospital neurology department before the Queensland Border. Children are seen at the John Hunter Children's Hospital (Kaleidoscope) on the same campus.
The JHH Emergency Department is the busiest in NSW, and the Outpatients Departments provides more than a million occasions of service annually.
Major expansion of the John Hunter Hospital Campus is currently underway, and the hospital is directly adjacent to Hunter Medical Research Unit.
Department Beds :
12 general Neurology beds, 8 Stroke Unit beds
Department Clinics
Available to the Advanced Trainee: General Neurology, Stroke/TIA Clinic, Parkinson's Disease and movement disorders Clinic, EMG/NCS Clinic, EEG reporting sessions, vestibular clinic, MS clinic, first seizure clinic, rapid access neurology clinic, lumbar puncture clinic. Also available: Memory disorders clinic
Department Specialty Clinics
Stroke and Acute TIA, MS, Movement Disorders, MND, Neuroimmunology, vestibular disorders, first seizure, botox.
Department Meetings
Weekly Neurology Meeting (presented by the Advanced Trainee)
Weekly Neuroradiology Meeting
Monthly neuroimmunology meeting
Monthly Journal Club
Weekly acute stroke Audit
Weekly medical grand rounds
Monthly whole of hospital grand rounds
Department Staff
Dr J D Blackie FRACP (Movement Disorders, Neurophysiology)
Dr Neil Spratt PhD FRACP (Experimental stroke modelling and Clinical Stroke)
Dr Jeanette Lechner-Scott FRACP (MS and Neurogenetics)
Dr Elizabeth Pepper, FRACP (Movement Disorders and Stroke)
Dr Andre Loiselle FRACP (Neurophysiology & general neurology)
Dr Ferdi Miteff (Stroke and Interventional Neuroradiology)
Dr Tom Wellings PhD, FRACP (Vestibular Disorders, Neuroimmunology)
Dr Myintzu Min (MS and stroke)
Dr Alvin Chew (stroke and general neurology)
Dr Natalia Murray (genetics and general neurology)
Dr Carlos Garcia Esperon (stroke)
Dr Ferdinand Miteff (Stroke and Interventional Neuroradiology)
Dr Pablo Garcia Bermejo (Stroke and Interventional Neuroradiology)
Dr Andre Loiselle (VMO: neurophysiology, stroke and general neurology)
Dr Jessica Stabler (Epilepsy and general neurology)
Dr Andrew Bleasel (Epilepsy and general neurology)
Dr Mitchell Lycett (Neurophysiology and general neurology)
A/Prof Peter Schofield MD FRACP (Neuropsychiatry and Cognitive disorders)
Junior Staff Positions In Neurology
There is one General Neurology Team:
Both comprise a BPT and JMO. The Advanced Trainees provide oversight of all general neurology admissions.
There is one Stroke Team:
This comprises the stroke fellow, a BPT or SRMO and a JMO.
Trainee Responsibilities
The training philosophy at JHH emphasizes the acquisition of broad clinical skills and experience (responsibilities include participating in the general neurology and stroke overtime roster, with currently an additional small commitment to the general hospital medical overtime roster). Advanced Trainees are encouraged to take advantages of the numerous opportunities available to them, including participating in clinical research, and presenting at local and national meetings. JHH Neurology is ideal for a core neurology training year. Some trainees have completed one core year and one fellowship year.
Selection Criteria
Philosophy Of Training
To provide for the core trainee a balance of training across general neurology including but not limited to epilepsy, stroke, movement disorders, multiple sclerosis, neurodegenerative disorders, vestibular disorders, headache and clinical neurophysiology. This includes the opportunity to "act up" under supervision and conduct clinics in stroke, MS, movement disorder and clinical neurophysiology.
To provide the elective stroke trainee with focussed training in stroke prevention, acute stroke clinico-radiological assessment, application of advanced multimodal stroke imaging, selection of patients for and delivery of acute reperfusion therapies, involvement in phase 2 and phase 3 clinical trials of acute stroke therapies and stroke prevention. Clinical research outputs will be strongly encouraged and supported.
To provide the elective MS trainee with management of all aspects of multiple sclerosis, including cutting edge immunotherapies, as part of a multidisciplinary clinical and research team, including opportunity to participate in existing multicentre trials and if desired to develop research expertise with support from Hunter Medical Research Institute.
An environment of support an encouragement with a focus on development of academic career directions.
Neurology Training In State
Other Information
n/a.