Specialists and Registrars at Rockhampton Hospital Intensive Care Unit
Rockhampton Hospital Intensive Care Unit has been recognised as a great training ground for specialist intensivists, gaining the highest level of re-accreditation by the College of Intensive Care Medicine of Australia and New Zealand.
Clinical Director Associate Professor David Austin is justifiably proud of the achievement, saying Rockhampton was the first regional ICU in Australasia to receive this level of accreditation.
The College’s hospital accreditation committee determined that the Intensive Care Unit at Rockhampton Hospital has received Re-Accreditation for Advanced Training in Intensive Care for 12 months.
Assoc Prof Austin said this accreditation was a great recruitment tool, meaning the unit was more likely to attract experienced registrars keen to come for a full 12 months of training.
“I’m very proud of the team we have here, not just for this accreditation but for the work they do every day. We have a great unit, great people with a great culture.”
Registrar Dr Alex Durman is thriving in a supportive specialist training environment.
“We have a lot of one-on-one teaching and good support from the consultants which means it is a very attractive workplace,” she said.
Fellow Registrar Dr Michael Hobday appreciates the support and is also glad to experience a good case mix with plenty of variety.
“Being in a smaller hospital there’s a lot of opportunity to get involved in cases and we work directly with the consultants which is great training,” he said.
Consultant Dr Ben White did three years’ training in Rockhampton, two in ICU and one in anaesthetics, moved away for 18 months to complete his training before returning for a consultant job.
“I was attracted back to Rockhampton because of the culture of the unit, the case load and the experience,” he said.
Deputy Director and Supervisor of Training Dr Jaco Poggenpoel is very proud of the achievement and excited about the recruitment opportunities it affords the unit.
“Getting an extension of our C12 status is useful for attracting more experienced registrars,” he said. “It’s very important that we can provide that well-rounded 12-month training experience to allow us to keep growing our workforce.”