Provisional Fellowships
The provisional fellowship year (PFY) program is open to ANZCA trainees who have completed their advanced training, working towards completion of their FANZCA. Trainees working towards the pain fellowship (FFPMANZCA) should contact the Pain Management Research Institute.
Our department usually employs 7 fellows each year. The program allows fellows to gain a broad depth of experience in all the sub-specialties offered at RNSH, while promoting the transition from registrar to consultant in a supportive environment. While there are no formally allocated sub-specialty days, it is generally possible to accumulate a significant caseload in areas of interest through the year. Provisional fellows provide 24/7 on-site cover, working alongside our consultants and registrars in the Anaesthesia afterhours roster.
01
General Fellowship
This is a flexible section where you can share anything you want. It could be details or some information about feature one.
02
Airway Fellowship
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03
Cardiothoracic
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04
Sim & Education
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Provisional Fellowships
General
RNSH is the only tertiary hospital in New South Wales which is a combined referral centre for major trauma, burns, spinal injuries, interventional neuroradiology, and high risk obstetrics. The department also has expertise in total intravenous anaesthesia, intra-operative neurophysiological monitoring for spinal and carotid surgery, anaesthesia for complex vascular neurosurgery, and ultrasound guided regional analgesia.
ORNSH offers all the major sub-specialties apart from transplantation and paediatrics. At present there is a weekly paediatric MRI list, one fortnightly paediatric general surgery list, regular paediatrics on 2-3 lists per week of ENT surgery, and reasonably frequent paediatric cases on trauma lists.
Provisional Fellowships
Airway
RNSH is the only tertiary hospital in New South Wales which is a combined referral centre for major trauma, burns, spinal injuries, interventional neuroradiology, and high risk obstetrics. The department also has expertise in total intravenous anaesthesia, intra-operative nRoyal North Shore Hospital has a moderate to high case load of microlaryngoscopy cases, neck dissections, and cancer free-flap reconstructions, all of which involve the two key objectives of the airway fellowship:
Advanced airway management
The provision of anaesthesia for head and neck surgery
The airway fellowship involves spending two days per week on surgical lists involving these cases. It is expected that the airway fellow participates in the after-hours roster, in equal contribution to the general fellows. Our institution’s significant trauma, burns, and spinal injury case load, further allows for the implementation of advanced airway techniques. Numerous continuing medical education opportunities are incorporated into this airway fellowship, chiefly:
Attendance at the ATTAAC airway management course
Organisation and delivery of the quarterly RNSH Airway Round TableThis is a meeting involving the presentation and discussion of challenging and significant airway cases involving the departments of emergency, intensive care, and ENT
Teaching opportunities include:
Provisional Fellowships
Cardiothoracic
Royal North Shore Hospital is the tertiary hospital of Northern Sydney Local Health District. We are the referral centre for patients requiring cardiac surgery or structural cardiology procedures from the Central Coast Local Health District. Overall, this represents a catchment area with a population of over 1.3 million.
Royal North Shore Hospital has two cardio-thoracic theatres running three days per week and one cardio-thoracic theatre two days per week. We perform approximately 350 cardiac surgical procedures, 200 thoracic surgical procedures and 250 cardiac device implantations annually.
The hospital has a large Structural and Electro-physiological Cardiology program. Over 200 TAVI (Trans-catheter Aortic Valve Implantations) procedures, as well as percutaneous mitral valve interventions, left atrial appendage and septal defect closures are performed annually.
We have sixteen accredited cardio-thoracic anaesthetists providing clinical services for these cases.
The Fellowship program will offer two days of clinical work in cardio-thoracic anaesthesia. This work will be performed in business hours under direct (level one) supervision.
Additionally, there will be clinical work covering Emergency and General theatre lists for one or two days per week.
Cardio-thoracic fellows are expected to contribute to the general (non-cardiac) on-call roster. This represents approximately three weekend days shifts and ten night shifts over a three month period.
The trainee will be expected to concurrently undertake training in Trans-Oesophageal Echocardiography. This may be undertaken through the University of Melbourne Post Graduate Diploma in Clinical Ultrasound, or through completion of the National Board of Echocardiography examination.
The trainee will be provided with non-clinical time. During their fellowship, there is an expectation that they will undertake a Clinical Audit.
Provisional Fellowships
Simulation and Medical Education
The fellowship provides a unique opportunity for anaesthetists who wish to develop expertise in simulation as a tool for medical education and patient safety. The program is tailored to the specific needs and interests of the fellow.
The fellowship typically involves a combination of coursework, hands-on training,, and supervised practice. Fellows in this program will learn to design, implement and effectively debrief simulation based training scenarios for anaesthetists and other healthcare professionals. They will also learn to evaluate the effectiveness of simulation-based training and use the results to improve patient care.
Fellows will work closely with experienced educators and simulation experts to develop their knowledge and skills in areas such as human factors, patient safety, and the use of technology in medical education. They will also have opportunities to apply their new skills in real-world settings, such as in the operating room or in other clinical environments.
Upon completion of the fellowship, graduates will be equipped with the knowledge and skills to design, implement, and evaluate simulation-based educational programs in anaesthesia, and to serve as leaders in the field of medical education.
The Simulation PF will spend the majority of their simulation time at Sydney Clinical Skills and Simulation Centre which is located on the same campus as RNSH. Courses which the fellow will be be involved in as faculty include:
Emergency Management of Anaesthetic Crises (EMAC)
ANZCA Emergency Response Unit courses (Paediatrics / Anaphylaxis / Obstetrics)
Advanced Technical and Teamwork Training for Anaesthetic Airway Crises (ATTAAC)
Anaesthetic Registrar Simulation
Comprehensive Simulation Instructor Training (CSIT)
Neonatal Resuscitation Training
High Acuity Rapid Response Team Training (HARTT)
Rural GP Anaesthetist training
Local and National Anaesthetic CME and airway meetings
Clinical Experience
In 2025, there will be TWO full time positions available. Each position will involve:
0.375 FTE of Simulation (3 days per fortnight) at Sydney Clinical Skills and Simulation Centre, and
0.625 FTE of clinical anaesthesia at Royal North Shore Hospital
Our fellows are exposed to a broad range of general and subspecialty interest anaesthesia with flexible allocations to suit their clinical interests. Please see our general fellowship tab to see what subspecialties we provide at RNSH.
A list of our previous fellows can be found here.