Shape the Future of Mental Healthcare in the Kimberley.

Are you a dynamic and innovative Psychiatrist dedicated to delivering services that address the distinctive requirements of the Kimberley community?

If so, WA Country Health Service is a seeking Psychiatrist for the Broome Mental Health Service.

We currently have 1 FTE vacant and can provide a Fixed-Term Full-Time contract for five years, with potential extensions.

About the Role

Opportunity Awaits: At the Broome Mental Health Unit (BMHU), we cover the expansive Kimberley and Pilbara regions, providing an incredible breadth of clinical experiences that contribute to a meaningful and dynamic daily practice. As an integral part of this team, you'll connect with hospitals across the regions and adult community mental health services, making a profound impact on mental healthcare delivery. Also, exciting projects are on the horizon such as the High Dependency Unit redesign. As part of this project you'll shape the future of our inpatient services and contribute to innovative solutions that enhance the patient experience.

Meaningful and Holistic Care: Acute inpatient care of Aboriginal patients tends to be more holistic overall and necessarily draws from a much broader pool of expertise and knowledge. One of the foundations of this diversity includes the knowledge and experience of Aboriginal Liaison Officers who provide invaluable wisdom about individuals, families, and communities. Seeing clients recover with treatment that is sensitive to their culture and beliefs provides opportunities to understand mental illness far more profoundly. Along the way, learning how symptoms of mental illness is conceptualised and the symbolism that it holds provides lessons and practical understanding that is not readily taught in formal psychiatric training.

Additionally, there is a significantly lower proportion of adjustment disorders/situational crises as a proportion of total presentations compared with metropolitan services.

Supportive Team Dynamics: As part of our passionate and multidisciplinary team, you'll experience direct and regular communication with the Clinical Director. Weekly service meetings feature robust case discussions, fostering collaboration and shared expertise. Our inpatient team is a cohesive unit comprising a trainee psychiatry registrar, an intern, five dedicated Aboriginal Liaison Officers, an Occupational Therapist, a Social Worker, a Nurse Unit Manager, and a skilled Nursing team.

Beyond the inpatient setting, you'll play a crucial role as the Clinical Lead for the Psychiatry Liaison Nurse (PLN) Service. Here, you'll conduct daily clinical reviews, encompassing ED presentations, community referrals for inpatient admissions, triage contacts, and consultation-liaison psychiatric cases in the general hospital. This multidimensional approach ensures your expertise touches a wide spectrum of care.

Guidance and Supervision: Your influence extends to the mentorship and supervision of three doctors under your leadership. This includes two trainee psychiatry registrars, one in the inpatient setting, and the other dedicated to Consultation Liaison, along with an inpatient intern.

Patient Demographics and Common Presentations: Patient demographics are diverse, ranging from young adults to the elderly, with a significant Aboriginal population. In the inpatient setting, 80-90% of our patients are Aboriginal people. Common presentations encompass first episode psychosis in youth/young adulthood, relapses of primary psychotic illnesses, mood disorders, and a focus on substance use disorders and drug-induced mood disorders.

Your Impact: As the Consultant Psychiatrist, you'll be responsible for the provision of specialized medical psychiatric services to the Broome Mental Health Unit. Your role will encompass clinical leadership, assessment, treatment, liaison, and consultation services. You'll assume clinical responsibility for BMHU staff practice and patient management standards. Your dedication to supervision, training, and instruction to junior medical staff is instrumental in shaping the future of mental healthcare in the Kimberley. As a key member of the multidisciplinary and management team for BMHU, you'll adhere to the Western Australian Mental Health Act (2014) legislation.

Join us in Broome and let your expertise help guide the future of mental healthcare in the Kimberley!

Want to hear more? Check out the What’s great about working for WACHS Kimberley video!

Qualifications:

• Registered medical practitioner with specialist AHPRA registration.
• Fellowship of the Royal Australian & New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (FRANZCP).

What's in it for you:

• Discover the Kimberley's natural wonders, from pristine beaches to rugged landscapes. Your downtime will be filled with unforgettable outdoor experiences.
• You’ll become part of a vibrant and close-knit community, the people of the Kimberley are known for their warm hospitality.
• Need to travel to the city? Perth is only a short 2 ½ hour flight away, with regional residents entitled to capped flight pricing.
• The ability to transfer your long-service and sick balances over from other government jurisdictions. Sacrifice less and begin the next chapter on top! (conditions apply)
  • Competitive salary packages which are among the highest in Australia.
  • Additional entitlements for working in a rural location such as district allowance, accommodation subsidies, air conditioner subsidies, travel days and, generous annual leave entitlements.
  • If you are coming to work from overseas or interstate:
    • You will be eligible to be reimbursed for costs related to the relocation of yourself and your immediate family (conditions apply).
    • We can offer a range of employee-sponsored work visas including PR (conditions apply).

Contact Information:

Want more information about this role? Reach out to Dr Louise Nash – Clinical Director Mental Health Services via email: Louise.Nash@health.wa.gov.au or phone: 0467 323 845.

Application Process:

To apply for this position, applicants must have a current and valid email address for online application and communication purposes. If you encounter any difficulties while applying online, please contact medjobswa@health.wa.gov.au.

To complete the application, please apply online via MedJobs WA – Ref 12015 and submit the following documents:

• A statement addressing each of the Work-Related Criteria found in the attached JDF and how you meet the position requirements.
• A detailed Curriculum Vitae which summarises your experience and how you meet the position requirements. Please include contact details for work related referees (It is preferable for one of your referees to be a current supervisor or manager).

This is an active “open-ended” recruitment pool, and as such the following should be noted:

• The panel will monitor this recruitment pool for applications and will assess on a regular basis.
• Suitable applicants will be placed in a pool from which appointments may be made when similar vacancies occur.
• Appointments may be made from this pool until 21/05/2025.

This vacancy is subject to a Western Australian Working With Children (WWC) Check. For further information please refer to the WWC website at: https://workingwithchildren.wa.gov.au

Please note this recruitment process requires completion of satisfactory Pre-Employment Health Assessment (PEHA).  Any offer of employment with WA Country Health Service (WACHS) is conditional on satisfactory PEHA to ensure you are able to perform the inherent requirements of the position. An unsatisfactory PEHA will result in the offer of employment being withdrawn.  Please see the attached WACHS PEHA Policy for further information.

Late or emailed applications will not be accepted.