JOB DESCRIPTION
General Physician with interest in Gastroenterology
Department of Medicine
Position Title:
General Physician – Interest in Gastroenterology
Organisation Unit:
Clinical Services
Location:
Whangarei Hospital, Northland District Health Board
Responsible to:
Clinical Head of Department, Department of Medicine, Northland
District Health Board
Primary Functions of
the Position:
1. To provide clinical service and direction in the subspecialty
area of gastroenterology
2. To provide general medical care both inpatients and
outpatients for the medical service in Northland
Functional Relationships
The Physician/gastroenterologist will develop and maintain excellent relationships with:
Internal
External
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Clinical Head of Department (CHOD)
Other physicians
Clinical Nurse managers and other
senior nurses of the medical service
Senior Medical staff employed by NDHB
Registrars and House Officers
Chief Medical Advisor
Regional Hospital services
Other Whangarei Hospital services
Physician - Gastroenterologist
Department of Medicine
Clinical Services
April 2010
Patients and family/whanau
GPs
Tertiary specialists and referral hospitals
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Key Responsibilities and Expected Outcomes
Northland District Health Board has established a set of values by which the organisation will
respond, in part, to achieving its goals and objectives through their workforce. The following
Values and supporting statements are expected behaviours of each individual employed with
NDHB:
Values
Supporting Statement
People First
Tangata I te tuatahi
Respect
Whakaute (tuku mana)
Caring
Manaaki
Communication
Whakawhitiwhiti korero
Excellence
Taumata teitei (hirangi)
People are central to all we do
We treat others as we would like to be treated
We nurture those around us, and treat all with dignity and
compassion
We communicate safely, openly and with respect to promote clear
understanding
Our attitude of excellence inspires success, competence,
confidence and innovation
The position of Physician/gastroenterologist encompasses the following major functions or
key result areas:
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In collaboration with other physicians to provide inpatient and outpatient general medical
services for Northland, including acute 24 hour care and follow-up patient management
In collaboration with the CHOD and other physicians, provide and lead specific
gastroenterology services
In consultation with Clinical Director and CHOD ensure that knowledge and skills
development is ongoing and up to date with current trends
In conjunction with CHOD,CD and General Manager (GM), contribute to the successful
management and service planning and development of the medical service of Northland
Treaty of Waitangi
Health and Safety
The outcome requirements of the above key responsibility areas are outlined below:
Key Responsibility Area
Expected Outcomes
In collaboration with
other physicians to
provide inpatient and
outpatient general
medical services for
Northland, including
acute 24 hour care and
follow-up patient
management
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Physician - Gastroenterologist
Department of Medicine
Clinical Services
April 2010
Participate in on call roster, attending urgent admissions at
Whangarei Hospital as required
Be available for telephone consultation from GPs, other
hospitals, junior medical staff and other services, during both
normal hours of work and while on call.
Perform regular ward rounds when on call (daily on
weekends and public holidays)
Discuss patients with multi-disciplinary team and refer
patients to tertiary services as appropriate
Perform regular routine ward rounds with junior medical staff
and the multi-disciplinary team of the ward reviewing the
progress, management and discharge plans of inpatients
admitted under your care.
Be available to discuss and/or see patients as required at
other times.
Attend to referrals from other wards/services as necessary.
Participate in multi-disciplinary ward team meetings to
establish goals, review progress, management and develop
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In collaboration with the
CHOD and other
physicians, provide and
lead specific
gastroenterology
services
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In consultation with
Clinical Director (CD)
and CHOD ensure that
knowledge and skills
development is ongoing
and up to date with
current trends
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In conjunction with
CHOD,CD and General
Manager (GM),
contribute to the
successful
management and
service planning and
development of the
medical service of
Northland
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discharge plans.
Ensure handover of information regarding patients of
concern to on-call medical team.
Delegate tasks and responsibilities to junior doctors as
appropriate to their level of skill and supervise their work.
Perform regular outpatient clinics at hospital sites around
Northland.
Perform endoscopy sessions as dictated by need, resource
availability and personal skills.
Liaise regularly with tertiary referral services regarding
aspects of patient care and for education purposes.
Accept outpatient referrals for new and follow-up
Gastroenterology patients, as part of the outpatient service
for Northland Health.
Provide regional visiting service to other peripheral sites,
seeing outpatients and inpatient referrals.
To set and maintain high quality standards of care for
inpatient and outpatient care.
Ensure all documentation and processes are clear and meet
the regulations of Northland Health.
Develop and maintain personal professional practice in
accordance with RACP Maintenance of professional
standards, legislative requirements, policies and guidelines
(or equivalent).
Peer group supervision/networking is undertaken on a
regular basis.
Participate in the provision of supervision and training for the
Registrars and House surgeons, nursing staff and allied
health professionals in the Inpatient and Outpatient services,
community groups and agencies.
Be involved in performance management which reflects the
current environment and which is reviewed at least once
annually.
In accordance with Service delivery priorities develop
special area of expertise consistent with own professional
discipline and interests, and thereby act as a resource
person for the Service.
Along with the other specialist staff, provide clinical
leadership for Gastroenterology services in Northland.
Develop liaison with tertiary referral hospital and tertiary
specialists.
Contribute to the planning and provision of Medical Service
and particular aspects relating to Gastroenterology services
in Northland.
Attend planning or management meetings as requested.
Prepare reports as required.
Provide direction, both written and verbal, to ensure safe
management and where necessary, develop written
guidelines.
Treaty of Waitangi
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Physician - Gastroenterologist
Department of Medicine
Clinical Services
April 2010
Contribute to the promotion of the principles of Treaty of
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Waitangi and the involvement if Maori within the decision
making process for their health and independence, within
District Health Board management processes and
procedures
Include the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi within all
aspects of the role and its outcomes
Ensure that consultation and engagement processes include
appropriate mechanisms to meet the need of Maori in a
culturally appropriate and safe manner
Attend the Northland District Health Board Treaty of
Waitangi Training
Key Responsibility Area
Expected Outcomes
Health & Safety
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Ensure compliance with designated responsibilities detailed
in Northland District Health Board’s Health and Safety Policy
Promote an environment of physical, occupational, cultural,
ethical and legal safety
Observe safe work practices, rules and instructions relating
to work, and be pro-active in hazard management
Willingly co-operate in the achievement of all health and
safety goals and initiatives by:
 Practicing and observing safe work methods;
 The use of safety equipment;
 Reporting unsafe conditions or equipment; and
 Reporting and documenting all accidents or incidents
Attend Good Stuff Day annually
Variation of Duties
Duties and responsibilities described above should not be construed as a complete and
exhaustive list as it is not the intention to limit in any way the scope or functions of the
position. Duties and responsibilities can be amended from time to time either by additional,
deletion or straight amendment by the General Manager Clinical Services to meet any
changing conditions, however this will only be done in consultation with the employee.
Physician - Gastroenterologist
Department of Medicine
Clinical Services
April 2010
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Person Specification
Education and Qualifications
Essential
Desirable
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Primary medical qualification eligible for
full registration with the Medical Council
of New Zealand (conditional or temporary
registration may be acceptable under
certain circumstances)
Specialist post-graduate qualification
eligible for registration on the Vocational
register with the Medical Council of New
Zealand. This qualification must be in
the general field of internal medicine
(FRACP) (recognisable other specialist
qualifications may be acceptable in
certain situations).
Current Drivers License – valid for New
Zealand
Qualify to undergo “Maintenance of
Profession Standards” requirements of
the RACP
Experience
Essential
Desirable
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Experience in the subspecialty area of
ERCP
Gastroenterology
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Endoscopy – OGD & Colonoscopy
Liver biopsies
Management of liver diseases including
viral hepatitis
Awareness and Understanding of
Essential
Desirable
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The Treaty of Waitangi and its application
to the health setting
Privacy Act (1993) and Health
Information Privacy Code (1994)
Health and Safety in Employment Act
(1992)
Physician - Gastroenterologist
Department of Medicine
Clinical Services
April 2010
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Health and Disability Commissioner
(Code of Health and Disability Services
Consumers’ Rights) Regulations (1996)
New Zealand Council of Healthcare
Standards
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Skills & Personal Attributes
Skills
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Developed interpersonal skills
Excellent written and verbal communications skills
Ability to balance competing priorities
Good time management skills
A high standard of written and oral communication
Ability to initiate and facilitate open communication
Personal Attributes
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Ability to be flexible. versatile and open to change
Must be a team player
Ability to work in a multidisciplinary team
A high standard of personal presentation
The ability to work autonomously and harmoniously within a multi-disciplinary team.
Diplomatic & approachable
Performance Development Review
An initial review of performance will be conducted after three months, with an annual review
thereafter.
An individual Development Plan will be developed to reflect the contribution this position is
expected to make towards achieving the team’s objectives and measures. Key result areas
will be developed and agreed at this time.
Authorised by:
Dr Nick Chamberlain, General Manager Clinical services
Date:
Acceptance
Acceptance of the position implies acceptance of this position description.
Position Title:
Signature of employee:
Date:
Physician - Gastroenterologist
Department of Medicine
Clinical Services
April 2010
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Job Summary
This is a new post within the Department of Medicine, there never having been a
gastroenterologist on the staff. Until now the majority of gastroenterology workload has been
spread among the physicians and acute endoscopy has been performed mainly by the
surgeons. To date, ERCP has not been provided here. There is a significant unmet demand
for endoscopy services. The appointee will be expected to provide and develop the
Gastroenterology services to Northland as well as sharing the acute medicine on-call with the
other physicians. When rostered to the wards, the appointee will have a registrar and house
physician. He/She will have an office with computer/IT access to the patient administration
system/laboratory, and radiological PACS is imminently being introduced. The wards have
wireless computer access facilitating the ward rounds and electronic discharge summaries
are being introduced. Moves are afoot to introduce paperless record keeping. Administrative
support is provided by a pool of typists and a Divisional secretary. The duties of the post will
be based upon 10 programmed activities (PAs), loosely comprising of:
7 Direct Clinical care PAs
 Outpatient sessions
 Wards Rounds
 Specialty Operative sessions
 Patient Administration
 On-call
 Emergency endoscopy
3 Supporting Clinical Activities
 Teaching/Training
 Continuing Professional Development/CME
 Research
 Management
The Department of Medicine
The Medical Division provides Acute Medicine care as well as outpatient/non-acute/elective
inpatient care to the population of Northland. In-house we cover a range of subspecialties
including Cardiology, Renal/dialysis, Diabetes and Care of the Elderly, as well as covering
some aspects of Respiratory Medicine (TB, bronchoscopy), oncology, endoscopy, hepatitis
and nerve conduction studies. We periodically have visiting specialists/teams contracted from
Auckland and Middlemore Hospitals covering Neurology, Respiratory Medicine, Pacemaker
follow-up, complex Cardiology, Rheumatology, Oncology, Haematology, Immunology and
Dermatology.
The Division currently has 52 acute medical beds on two wards and 6 CCU beds. Bedoccupancy rates are very high. The CCU is run as a co-operative with the on-call physicians
retaining ownership of patients and treating according to standardised and agreed guidelines.
There is a rehabilitation ward which incorporates the 4-bedded stroke unit. The 10-bed ICU is
run by the intensivists/anaesthetists.
The outpatient workload is also increasing. In addition to clinics at Whangarei, we provide
regular specialist visiting services to the three regional hospitals. Most are accessed by road,
but Kaitaia involves a 40 minute flight from Whangarei Airport. All specialists are required to
participate in these important services
The medical service has five teams of two physicians with registrars and house officers
allocated to each team. The registrar and house jobs are recognised for training by the
RACP. The physician teams work a roster of 5 weeks of acute take followed by 5 weeks of
clinic responsibilities.
Physician - Gastroenterologist
Department of Medicine
Clinical Services
April 2010
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The renal service is comprised of 4 specialists, 1 registrar and 1 house officer. The main
dialysis unit is at Whangarei Hospital with one satellite unit at bay of Islands Hospital and a
second satellite unit due to open at Kaitaia Hospital in 2010.
Teaching and Training
We are committed to providing teaching and training to the junior staff. The Medical Division
has regular junior doctor presentations on a Wednesday morning, weekly journal club, weekly
dedicated house physician teaching, video-conference-based registrar teaching as well as
periodic Grand Rounds. You will be expected to actively participate in these sessions.
Endoscopy
Emergency endoscopy and the majority of the non-urgent endoscopy are undertaken by the
surgical team in a dedicated theatre within the theatre complex. We have a range of the latest
scopes and are able to perform invasive therapy including variceal banding/sclerotherapy,
ulcer injections, stenting/dilatation, polypectomy etc. There is no laser capability available. All
ERCP is done in Auckland. Currently we send over 100 patients per year to Auckland. There
may be scope for introducing ERCP at Whangarei. It is envisaged that the appointee would
have 2 sessions of endoscopy per week with the option of perhaps extending this by
negotiation. The option of a list in a regional hospital is also a possible new development if
considered appropriate.
Support Services
The Radiology department provides ultrasound, plain radiography, invasive diagnostic
imaging, CT and MRI. PACS is available at all NDHB hospitals.
There is a full on-site laboratory with on-site pathologists plus laboratories at each of the
regional hospitals
We have an excellent new library which has over 100 hard copy journal subscriptions and
widespread electronic media availability.
Hospital-wide electronic information capability is available in all wards and clinic rooms.
Physician - Gastroenterologist
Department of Medicine
Clinical Services
April 2010
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