Professor of Psychological Medicine/Associate Professor
Western Clinical School (Nepean Campus)
Wentworth Area Health Service
Faculty of Medicine

Applications are invited from suitably qualified medical graduates for appointment to the position of Professor of Psychological Medicine or Associate Professor based at Nepean Hospital. The successful applicant will be appointed to the Western Clinical School (Nepean Campus) of the Faculty of Medicine in the discipline of Psychological Medicine and will be responsible to the University for academic matters and to the Wentworth Area Health Service (WAHS) for clinical matters. The appointee will be expected to teach undergraduate and postgraduate students, to undertake and supervise research, to coordinate teaching, and to provide clinical services within the area of Psychological Medicine when required.

The successful applicant must be a medical graduate eligible for registration in NSW. He/she must hold a Fellowship of the RANZCP or equivalent specialist recognition as provided for under the Health Insurance Act 1973. Possession of a higher degree and a substantial record of research achievement and funding are expected. Applicants must have proven ability to work closely and harmoniously with colleagues and must have highly developed interpersonal skills. They will be expected to demonstrate a commitment to clinical governance through working collaboratively with clinicians and managers in the governance processes to ensure the patient care system is adequate to provide a safe level of quality care. Clinical governance in Wentworth Area Health Service is viewed as a whole system process, which is patient centred, safety conscious, multidisciplinary in delivery, focussed on continuous improvement, and managed through the identification and tracking of variance with change based on evidence.

The initial appointment will be for five years, subject to the completion of a satisfactory probation period. The appointment may be renewed without advertisement for a further period, subject to need and the availability of funds. Membership of a University approved superannuation scheme is a condition of employment for new appointees.The Western Clinical School and WAHS are committed to maintaining a strong academic role in Wentworth Area Mental Health Service (WAMHS) and reappointment, while conditional upon satisfactory performance, can be expected. The appointee may also be eligible to be appointed as Area Clinical Director of WAMHS within WAHS.

Informal inquiries concerning the position should be directed to either Professor Michael Peek, Associate Dean of the Western Clinical School, Nepean Campus on (+612) 4733 3732, e-mail: PeekM@wahs.nsw.gov.au or Professor Phillip Boyce, Head of the discipline of Psychological Medicine, on (+612) 9845 6688 or email: pboyce@mail.usyd.edu.au. A statement of information about the position is available from Personnel Services on (+612) 9351 2221.

The Professor/Associate Professor will be appointed to the staff of the University of Sydney.

Remuneration packages:

Associate Professor - $105,219 - $115,821 p.a. (which includes a base salary Associate Professor Level D $89,135 - $98,197 p.a., leave loading and up to 17% employer's contribution to superannuation)
Professor - $135,268 p.a. (which includes a base salary Professor Level E $114,818 p.a., leave loading and up to 17% employer's contribution to superannuation)

Level of appointment will be commensurate with qualifications and experience.

A clinical loading of $19,876 per annum is also payable. Additional allowances may also be payable by Wentworth Area Health Service. The appointee will have a right of higher consultative practice for the equivalent of up to one day per week in the teaching hospitals of the University.

The University and the WAHS reserve the right to appoint by invitation and not to proceed with an appointment for financial and other reasons.

Equal employment opportunity and no smoking in the workplace are University and Health Service policies.

Conditions of Appointment

The following special conditions of appointment will apply in respect of the Chair:

1. The title of the person appointed will be the Professor of Psychological Medicine or Associate Professor. The successful applicant will be appointed to the University of Sydney, with a clinical appointment in the WAHS. The appointee will be based at Nepean Hospital and will be a member of the Western Clinical School (Nepean Campus) and of the discipline of Psychological Medicine and will carry out his/her academic activities under the direction of the Head and Associate Dean of the Western Clinical School (Nepean Campus).
2. In accordance with the By-laws, the appointee, if a professor, and other professors in Psychological Medicine will be jointly responsible for initiating proposals for courses of study, for supervising and participation in teaching and examining and for promoting advanced study and research, though each may be primarily concerned with particular fields of the discipline as arranged among themselves from time to time.
3. The appointee will have responsibilities for academic activities in Psychological Medicine, including undergraduate and postgraduate teaching and research.

Criteria for Appointment to Chairs

Appointees to Chairs are expected to meet the following general criteria:

1. Outstanding scholarship and research of international standing in a particular field of knowledge/professional or creative activity with a breadth of interests and a sympathy for other research interests represented in the department;
2. Evidence of ability to take an active role in the maintenance of academic standards in the development of educational policy and of curriculum areas within the discipline;
3. Strong commitment to the importance of teaching at all levels and to innovation in curriculum design and teaching methods, together with distinguished personal contribution to teaching;
4. Vision and enthusiasm, demonstrated ability to provide leadership in fostering excellence in scholarship, in promoting research and research policy and in encouraging and developing research training;
5. Good management skills, a willingness and ability to perform high level administrative tasks, to provide leadership in policy development in a discipline and to represent the Department's interests with the University and the wider community both scholarly and general;
6. A proven record of being able to encourage the development of staff, to recognise and resolve potential conflict and to maintain good personal relations with and between staff or a perceived ability to do so;
7. Participation in and providing leadership in community affairs, particularly those related to the discipline in professional, commercial and industrial sectors where appropriate.

Criteria for appointment as an Associate Professor

Appointees to positions of Associate Professor are expected to meet the following general criteria:

1. Evidence of a standard of excellence in scholarship, research, teaching and administration comparable with that usually expected of a person who would be seriously considered for a Chair in the University of Sydney in his/her own field.

2. Evidence of having achieved academic excellence and of the ability to make an outstanding contribution to teaching and/or research and scholarship and/or creative and artistic activities and/or the profession.

3. Demonstrated ability to contribute significantly to most activities of a department/school and faculty in such areas as curriculum development and implementation and the acceptance of high level administrative responsibilities (for example, headship of a department/school), and to play a prominent role within the profession or discipline, and to provide service to the University.

4. Where an Associate Professorship has been established in order to meet a special need in a Department, an appointments committee, in addition to requiring that an applicant shall have demonstrated outstanding performance in teaching and research, may give considerable weight to evidence relating to an applicants ability to provide academic leadership in the area designated for the position.

Information for Candidates

Psychological Medicine at the University of Sydney

Psychological Medicine at The University of Sydney is a dynamic academic discipline within the Faculty of Medicine. Its members are involved in teaching and other academic and clinical duties at several different psychiatric units and mental health facilities throughout the metropolitan area. The major teaching commitment is in the education of medical students. Members are also actively involved in research, in postgraduate teaching and professional training and in community education and have strong research and publication records.

The appointee will be expected to contribute to research, teaching and other activities and to share in administrative responsibilities with the University. The appointee will be expected to embrace and actively support the principles of medical education introduced in the University of Sydney Medical Program in 1997. The appointee will also be expected to assume leadership roles in the education of undergraduate and postgraduate students in the Western Clinical School (Nepean Campus) and in the conduct and supervision or research, and provide support to the clinical quality and safety program of WAMHS.

Academic Discipline of Psychological Medicine at the Western Clinical School (Nepean Campus)

The academic discipline of Psychological Medicine at Nepean was established in 1990 when Nepean Hospital became a teaching hospital of the University of Sydney. The discipline operates in the Western Clinical School (Nepean Campus) of the Faculty and provides teaching to students in the University of Sydney Medical Program.

Research in the discipline of Psychological Medicine at Nepean Hospital has been predominantly into the causation (epidemiological studies) and treatment of the non psychotic disorders (the anxiety disorders, somatisation and postnatal depression). There are opportunities for further clinical research in the low prevalence disorders.

The Area Mental Health Service has been set up as a fully integrated mental health service providing services to the population of Wentworth Area (population of approximately 320,000). The service has a 30 bed inpatient unit at the Nepean Hospital (with a new inpatient unit planned for Katoomba due to open in 2005) and community mental health teams in St Marys, Penrith, Windsor, Springwood and Katoomba. There is an access team providing initial triage and assessment for referrals to the service, and a transition team that provides intensive follow-up in the community. The child and adolescent team and the early psychosis intervention team are based in Penrith but provide an area-wide service. In addition to the integrated mental health service there is an active consultation liaison service and psycho-oncology services at Nepean Hospital. Teleconferencing facilities have been developed at the Blue Mountains Hospital, Hawkesbury Hospital and the Blue Mountains Community Health Centre to link with the inpatient unit at Nepean Hospital. There is an active anxiety disorders clinic run from the Nepean Hospital, a small perinatal mental health service, and an eating disorders outpatient clinic.

The Service has been active in developing a number of mental health improvement activities focussing on mental health promotion, prevention and early intervention. Significant work has also bee undertaken in establishing processes to enhance integrated care with GPs and in developing effective participation models for working with consumers and carers.