Fellowship

AOA Accredited Fellowship

PFET Accredited Fellowship

Email: Tony.berger@vhsa.com.au
Duration: Twelve months
Stipend: For review on application

Institutions:
St Vincent’s Private Hospital Fitzroy
St Vincent’s Private Hospital East Melbourne
St Vincent’s Private Hospital Kew
St Vincent’s Public Hospital Melbourne

Educational goals and characteristics:

Prospective applicants should aspire to full-time or major part-time practice in hand surgery.

The Hand Surgery Fellowship combines private and public hospital clinical practice and clinical research. This is through appointment to Victorian Hand Surgery Associates (VHSA), an association of eight hand surgeons, (five orthopaedic and three plastic surgeons). VHSA is supported by seven dedicated hand therapists who assist in the assessment and rehabilitation of hand conditions and a full complement of clerical and nursing staff, as well as a dedicated on-site radiology service.

The successful candidate is exposed to all aspects of elective and emergency hand and distal arm surgery, including rheumatoid, wrist and elective microsurgical reconstruction of the hand and some brachial plexus and congenital hand surgery. There are potentially 16 clinical and surgical sessions per week that are available with approximately 4000 cases performed each year. Clinical responsibility will be assigned on experience and demonstrated clinical skills and competence.

The fellow will be involved in the assessment, pre-operative workup, conservative and surgical treatment of patients and also post-operative management and rehabilitation. This will involve appointment to clinics on rotation in the private system and also in the Plastic and Hand Surgery Unit at St Vincent’s Public Hospital.

The fellow will be expected to attend weekly radiology, clinical conference, preoperative and audit sessions and journal club meetings and to present cases and lectures as determined by the consultants. The fellow will also assist in the teaching of undergraduates and trainees as part of their public hospital commitment.

The fellow will be expected to have at least one clinical paper ready for presentation or at submission status for publication in a major hand journal. The fellow will be supported to attend the Australian Hand Surgery Society Annual Scientific Meeting.

Requirements:
Applicants must hold, or be eligible to hold, a current certificate of registration to practice medicine in Australia. Applicants must provide for their own medical practice indemnity insurance and provide their own and family’s health insurance.

Applicants must have successfully completed their residencies in plastic or orthopaedic surgery.

Applications:
Applications, including a detailed curriculum vitae, with letters of recommendation from three referees with whom the applicant has worked must be received at least 12 months prior to the anticipated fellowship commencement

Past Fellows

The VHSA Hand Fellowship has been successfully run for qualified plastic and orthopaedic surgeons from all over the world since 1996.