Emergency

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Emergency Department (ED):  Monash Medical Centre, Clayton

Variety is the spice of life. Nowhere delivers this more than life in the Emergency Department of Monash Medical Centre Clayton. Almost 60,000 annual attendances include a rich variety of medical, surgical, trauma, paediatric and psychiatry presentations. The enormous variation in patient acuity is both challenging and rewarding and allows our nursing staff to develop extensive emergency nursing skills. Emergency nurses with a particular interest in paediatric emergency nursing will not be disappointed as approximately a third of our presentations are from the paediatric population.

The Emergency department has recently undergone a major refurbishment. The upgraded department has 42 cubicles including seven state-of-the-art resuscitation cubicles, decontamination facilities and three isolation rooms, There are separate paediatric and adult treatment areas, separate waiting and play facilities for children and dedicated facilities for patients with mental health needs plus a ten bedded short stay unit.

Up to 19 nurses are currently rostered on each shift. This includes an Associate Nurse Unit Manager who leads the shift; up to two triage nurses and senior experienced nurses allocated to lead the teams of nurses working in different areas of the department. In addition, a Nurse Practitioner candidate is rostered to work in the department many afternoons.

Education and professional opportunities: Monash Medical Centre boasts a full 3.0 EFT of Clinical Nurse Educators within the Emergency Department. The education team performs a vast array of roles from facilitating the clinical development year nurses to assisting post graduate students successfully negotiate their clinical hurdles. The education team also coordinate daily education sessions designed specifically towards clinical nursing needs. A series of comprehensive self directed education packages assist nurses at all levels to aim for even higher levels of clinical practice. This dynamic and staff focused education team will act as a major catalyst in your clinical development and nursing practice.

The emergency department possesses a very successful clinical development year, which facilitates a limited number of new emergency nurses to undertake a structured developmental program with appropriate clinical support and additional study days to assist in their professional development. This is just a small example of the high importance placed upon professional development within the department.

Monash Medical Centre has historically focused on its status as a leading teaching hospital in the country. This proud tradition continues on in the Emergency Department. All skill levels and developmental stages are represented in both our nursing and medical teams. Regardless of whether you are an expert or a motivated novice the emergency department caters to your clinical needs and abilities.

Some of the emergency nurses within the department practice at an advanced level instigating many protocol-driven, nurse initiated activities. These include nurse initiated x-ray; nurse initiated pathology; and finally an analgesia protocol designed to minimise the wait of patients for analgesia. It is through progressive innovation and collaborative problem solving such as this that the emergency department seeks constant self-improvement.

Emergency Department (ED):  Dandenong Hospital
           
The Dandenong Hospital ED provides emergency care for approximately 45,000 patients per year over a diverse area which encompasses parts of metropolitan Melbourne, the Dandenong ranges, Gippsland and the Mornington Peninsula.  This Emergency department of 30 clinical service areas provides care for a variety of presentations, including trauma, obstetric and gynaecological, paediatric, orthopaedic, plastics, psychiatric and acute medical and surgical emergencies.

Emergency Nursing is a dynamic and challenging speciality. The acuity of patients, complexity of care and degree of technological intervention is variable.  Emergency Nurses must be able to prioritise patient care and provide accurate assessment and effective ongoing management for a diversity of patient populations.  Nursing practice in the ED may range from life saving interventions to providing health promotion and injury prevention information.

Emergency Department (ED):  Casey Hospital

The Casey Hospital Emergency Department (ED) opened in March 2005. Since then it has developed into a busy department seeing well over 40,000 presentations each year. The Casey Hospital ED provides 24 hours a day 7 days a week care for all emergency patients.

The ED consists of 20 general cubicles, including a dedicated psychiatric room and isolation room, 2 resuscitation bays (adult & paediatric) and 6 procedure rooms, inclusive of a plaster, procedure and an ENT specialty room.

There is a comprehensive orientation and induction course with an educator plus supernumery time. ALS/APLS is run at Casey, with multiple instructors in the Emergency Department, and free in-house training in, ECG’s, computers and management to name a few is also provided. We have conference and seminar rooms available, as well as library access on site. A multidisciplinary team approach enables the best patient care, input & outcomes.

The diverse presenting patient population consists of both paediatrics and adults. We operate closely with other sites and services within Southern Health, so whilst not all subspecialty services are provided at Casey, patients requiring these services are referred and transferred as appropriate. The department offers diverse range of education, research opportunities, flexible rostering, family-friendly shifts and a, most importantly, a caring fun team.