Medical Equipment Coordinator

RACS VIC Office, East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Posted Monday 21 October 2024 at 1:00 pm

About us
The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) is the leading advocate for surgical standards, professionalism and surgical education in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. The College is a not-for-profit organisation that represents more than 8600 surgeons and 1300 surgical trainees and Specialist International Medical Graduates.

RACS also supports healthcare and surgical education in the Asia-Pacific region and is a substantial funder of surgical research. There are nine surgical specialties in Australasia: Cardiothoracic Surgery, General Surgery, Neurosurgery, Orthopaedic Surgery, Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Paediatric Surgery, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Urology, and Vascular Surgery.

About the role
Reporting to the General Manager, Global Health, you will play a pivotal role in the planning and deployment of volunteer surgical teams conducting surgery with clinical partners across the Indo-Pacific region, as part of the RACS Global Health Program. You will develop and maintain highly collaborative relationships with colleagues, RACS Fellows, RACS specialist medical volunteers, key suppliers, and clinical partners.

This role is based in Melbourne and will be offered on a max term basis until the end of December 2025, 0.8 FTE (4 days per week). In this role, you will manage the RACS Medical Equipment room and suite of medical equipment and supply of drugs and consumables to ensure that comprehensive medical equipment kits, aligned to key surgical specialties, are ready and appropriate for overseas deployment.

Key responsibilities include:

1. Coordination of Equipment, Drugs, and Consumables for Volunteer Surgical Team Deployment in the Indo-Pacific:
• Liaise and manage technical support discussions with Volunteer Surgical Teams and in-country medical teams to assure correct supply of appropriate medical equipment, drugs, and consumables for RACS volunteer teams.
• Check and correct documentation and packing of medical equipment, drugs, and consumables for deployments. Participate in team briefings prior to departure. Troubleshoot any equipment or supply issues from Australia with teams whilst in-country.
• In partnership with the GH team, manage established systems of export/import customs requirements including provision of customs letters and legal documentation of drugs, consumables, and equipment supplies transported overseas.
• Liaise with RACS Specialty Coordinators and National Clinicians to ensure equipment, drugs, and consumables for potential procurement are appropriate, feasible for use, required, and requested by the Ministry of Health or clinical team in the recipient country.
• Provide end-to-end support for volunteer surgical teams including documentation and addressing issues raised in End of Trip reports.
2. Drugs and Poisons Compliance Management:
• Coordination and management of all drugs and poisons (Schedule 2 - Schedule 8) required for RACS Global Health volunteer surgical deployments and per Victorian legislative requirements.
• Maintain a high standard of compliance and recording of drug handling, documentation, and storage protocols.
• Procurement of drugs required for surgical volunteer deployment overseas.
3. Finance and Assets Management:
• Ensure purchase orders, invoicing, and remittances are in alignment with RACS procurement and finance policies and GH program budgets.
• Maintain RACS Global Health medical equipment asset register, including maintenance and upkeep of all equipment stored in the RACS Medical Equipment Room.
• Continuous liaison with medical equipment company representatives/suppliers and donors. Network with medical companies to enable value-for-money negotiation for goods and services.
4. Policy and Procedure Development:
• Develop a RACS GH Medical Equipment procedural manual.
• Review, update, and develop policies and procedures.

Qualifications, Skills and Experience

- Essential qualifications - registered nurse and Bachelor of Nursing or equivalent qualification.
- Essential experience - Experience in all areas of perioperative nursing.
- Essential requirements - AHPRA registered nurse with detailed knowledge of surgery needs and requirements. Specific knowledge of ACORN standards.
- Desirable qualifications - Post-Graduate studies in perioperative nursing, and experience in anaesthetics and PACU nursing.
- Desirable experience - Overseas clinical volunteering and experience in specialties such as ENT, Urology, Paediatrics, and Vascular surgery.
- Ability to make strategic recommendations related to procurement of new medical equipment.
- Experience in procurement of medical equipment, consumables, and drugs.
- Comprehensive knowledge of suppliers of surgical consumables and equipment.
- Excellent communication and problem-solving skills.

Further requirements

- Competent in Excel and Word.
- Ability to work in a diverse, multi-disciplinary team environment.
- Lateral thinking and ability to make quality improvements when required.
- Ability to work independently and establish work priorities when faced with multiple tasks.
- Ability and awareness to work in a variety of different cultural settings.

At our organisation, we are proud to have a positive impact on improving health outcomes in the community. Our people are especially important to us, we treat everyone fairly and are mindful of our colleagues and their wellbeing. Working at RACS, you will thrive in our environment where we recognise that we are all one team. Our employees are at their best when they have balance in their lives, so by joining our team you will have:

- Flexibility to combine working from home with time spent in the office.
- RACS Professional Development Framework (Grow at RACS).
- Access to a wellbeing app.
- Additional, gifted leave at the end of the year.
- Access to online learning portal THRIVE with a catalogue of 89,000+ courses.
- Access to an Employee Assistance Program which includes counselling for personal and work-related issues, support for family members, legal support, career development and planning, nutrition & lifestyle advice, as well as financial counselling.

We genuinely care about our employees’ health and wellbeing and encourage our people to bring their whole selves to work.

How to apply?
To apply for this role please submit your application by clicking on the “Apply Now” button to submit a cover letter, resume and answer the outlined selection criteria.

Please note we will be reviewing applications as they come in.

Enquiries can be directed to careers@surgeons.org however, applications emailed to this address will not be accepted.

RACS is a child-safe organisation. RACS recruitment and selection procedures reflect our commitment to the safety and protection of children in all our activities. As part of the selection process, candidates are required to undergo a Police check, an anti-money laundering & counter-terrorism check and signing of our Child Safeguarding Policy & Code of Conduct and RACS Workforce Conduct Policy.

RACS is committed to supporting diversity and inclusion in our workforce. The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) recognises Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people as the traditional landowners of Australia and Māori as the tangata whenua (people of the land) of Aotearoa New Zealand. We are committed to creating employment opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and Māori and building an environment that is inclusive, culturally safe and appropriate.

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