Clinical Nurse Consultant- EACH

Alfred Health

Alfred Health is a leader in health care delivery, improvement, research and education. We are the main provider of health services to people living in the inner southeast suburbs of Melbourne, from ambulatory to inpatient and home and community-based services.

 

Fixed-Term Role (Potential to extend)

Full- time opportunity at 76hours her fortnight 

Classification: ZF4 / ZJ4

Location: Alfred Hospital 

Great Staff Benefits!

 

The Department 

The Expanding Antibiotic use into the Community and at Home (EACH) Program is a pilot, focused on people who inject drugs (PWID) who have acute infections requiring hospitalisation.  These admissions often require complex management of substance use, mental health and social instability as well as the acute infective illness and can be complicated by challenging therapeutic relationships.  Traditionally patients have received prolonged intravenous antimicrobials for invasive infections resulting in a long hospital admission, as barriers have existed to moving this population into community based models of care. 

The aims of the pilot:

• To improve health outcomes (including treatment completion, mortality and reduction in patient directed discharges and readmissions) in PWID admitted to the Alfred for treatment of acute infections through the adoption of a flexible patient-centred model of care.

• Decrease unplanned directed discharges, decrease behaviours of concern, improve care planning and thus improve staff satisfaction.

Position Summary

The CNC EACH Program will work collaboratively with key stakeholders including Ward 7West, Addiction Medicine, HITH, Infectious Diseases Specialists and people who inject drugs, to deliver the aims of the pilot program outlined above.  The pilot will build on successes that Ward teams and Addiction Medicine have had in working with PWID with infections, Ward 7West have had in initiating long acting antibiotic infusions to facilitate early discharge and HITH having supported a number of PWID at home. 

This role will involve actively identifying patients for the program and engaging with patients and the multidisciplinary ward based team to develop discharge plans early in the patient’s admission.  Initially it will involve provision of treatment to PWID ambulatory patients accessing day treatment and/or long acting antibiotic infusions on Ward 7West whilst the program builds home based treatment referral numbers and/or establishes alternative model/s of ambulatory care.  The CNC will be a key resource/support to nurses providing direct patient care to EACH program patients in the acute and community settings.  The role will support referrals to HITH through provision of  joint home assessments with HITH where appropriate, navigating and facilitating community service treatment options where home is not an option, where treatment plans are not successful facilitating with the patient and treating team a new treatment plan and facilitating outpatient follow up.

Experience and Qualifications Required:

• Currently Registered as a Nurse with Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia
• Advanced clinical knowledge and skills working with people with injecting drug use
• Post graduate qualification in addiction or mental health preferred/working towards Masters qualification
• Critical thinking skills
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills
• Ability to work collaboratively with other services and departments across the hospital and community
• Ability and willingness to develop others
• Commitment to quality and safety activities / research process and application to practice
• Commitment to the nursing care delivery system

Staff Benefits

• Generous salary packaging and novated leasing are available through Maxxia
• Onsite child care services, payroll deductible expense
• Onsite staff gym, a payroll deductible expense
• Modern onsite library faculties, exclusive to Alfred Health staff
• Access to health and wellbeing incentives
• Discounted health insurance

 

For enquiries regarding this role. please contact Brian Price- Operations Manager Infectious Diseases on 0404816429 or Lucy Attwood- Infectious Diseases Specialist EACH Program (available after 20 Nov) on 0438 706 151.

Applications close at 11pm on Tuesday the 28th of November, 2023 

Alfred Health is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to attracting and retaining a diverse workforce that reflects the community we serve.  Applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are encouraged.

In accordance with the Health Minister's Covid-19 Mandatory Vaccination Order, all Alfred Health employees are required to be fully vaccinated (3 doses) for COVID-19 or hold an acceptable medical exemption. Furthermore, in accordance with the Health Services Amendment (Mandatory Vaccination of Healthcare Workers) Act 2020, health care workers in Category A or B roles (as determined by the department’s risk ratings) are required to be vaccinated against influenza or hold an acceptable medical exemption. 

Website: www.alfredhealth.org.au