Fertility Counsellor

Location: Melbourne | Northern Metropolitan

Job type: Full time, Part time

Organisation: The Royal Women's Hospital

**Salary**: Salary not specified

Occupation: Health and Allied Health

Reference: 24792

**Fertility Counsellor - Public Fertility Services, Reproductive Services Unit**
- Full and part time positions available
- Fixed term: June 30 2024

The Royal Women’s Hospital is Australia’s first and largest specialist hospital dedicated to improving the health and wellbeing of newborns and women of all ages. To join the Women’s is to be instrumental in forging progress towards health equity for women from ground-breaking research through to the bedside delivery of multi-disciplinary clinical care.

Creating exceptional experiences is at the heart of everything we do for our patients, their families, and our people across our specialised services within maternity, neonatal and women’s health.

Join us to create Victoria’s first fully Public Fertility Service (PFS) and help thousands of Victorian people to fulfill their dream of becoming parents. The new PFS offers high-quality, safe, and value-based fertility services for all eligible Victorians including people who are single, Aboriginal, LGBTIQ+, living with a disability, from culturally and linguistically diverse communities, from regional and rural communities and/or living on low incomes.

Building on decades of leadership in fertility care the PFS offers a full range of integrated services including:

- Fertility assessment and management, including consultations, fertility investigations, ovulation monitoring/tracking and ovulation induction
- Assisted reproductive treatments, as well as counselling, information and support
- A publicly run fertility preservation program so people with cancer or other health issues can have their tissue stored and retrieved for future us

**Your contribution**

As a Fertility Counsellor you will provide services to individuals and couples including pre-treatment implications counselling, supportive and therapeutic counselling during and after treatment, fertility and reproductive treatment decision making and relationship counselling. You'll always demonstrate respect, compassion and aim to create an exceptional experience in every interaction with our patients and their families.

Your duties will include (but are not limited to) the following:

- Draw on your fertility counselling experience to ensure all counselling provided to patients and families meet relevant legislation and guidelines and are aligned to The Women’s vision and values
- Provide face-to-face and telehealth counselling to patients with pre-treatment Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) counselling; help patients manage the psycho-social challenges that can accompany ART; provide support, information and advice regarding donor and surrogacy treatment programs
- Deliver counselling that recognises social determinants affect people's fertility and fertility choices, and the cultural, gender, ability and social diversity of our patients.
- Support the Counselling Manager to maintain clinical protocols, guidelines and work instructions, which promote best practice and evidence-based standards.

**About you**

To be successful within this role you will need to have:

- Membership of, or eligible for membership of, the Australian and New Zealand Infertility Counsellors Association (ANZICA)
- At least a 4-year tertiary academic qualification from a recognised academic institution for the relevant profession deemed suitable by the Australian professional association/s or regulation agencies:

- Current registration as a psychologist with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) without restrictions or,
- A member of, or is eligible for membership of, the Australian Association of Social Workers
- A minimum of 2 years clinical counselling experience
- Evidence of a minimum of 10-hours of engagement in ongoing professional development in the field of ART and infertility counselling, over 12 months.
- Clinical knowledge and skills around reproductive health, reproductive loss, and fertility issues
- ?A working knowledge of Reproductive Technology Accreditation Committee (RTAC) Code of Practice and other ART and fertility counselling legislations and guidelines.
- A commitment to working as part of a multidisciplinary fertility unit and to offering exceptional experiences to our patients.

When you join the Women’s you unite with talented people who share your purpose and unwavering determination to advance health outcomes for all women. You will find a workplace that is collaborative, progressive and passionate about learning and working together in multi-disciplinary teams to ensure you find the**_ exceptional _**in your everyday.

We are proudly Breastfeeding Association accredited. The Women’s is committed to gender equity principles and our people have an awareness of and sensitive approach to violence against