OVERVIEW

The Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH) Nursing Service offers a challenging, diverse and rewarding career with ample opportunities for professional advancement. RAH nurses are guided by a set of values outlined in its Nursing Vision Statement. The Nursing Service provides professional and clinical governance and support for nurses at RAH.

Royal Adelaide Hospital is the oldest and largest acute tertiary and secondary hospital in South Australia and is considered a leader in healthcare. It provides a specific range of tertiary referral services to the people of South Australia and the nearby states and territories.

It is known nationally and internationally for its work in retrieval services, hyperbaric medicine, haematology, acute pain management and spinal injuries and is the largest trauma centre for the state. Specialist services include adult intensive care, renal dialysis, burns and plastics, bone marrow transplantation, maxillo-facial surgery, spinal, orthopaedics, cardio-thoracic, neuro-surgery, together with general surgery, medicine and acute care.

Royal Adelaide Hospital collaborates with Adelaide’s three universities in providing medical and nursing education at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. It is also involved in various areas of medical and health research, often in conjunction with the Institute of Medical and Veterinary Science (IMVS) and is affiliated with the Hanson Institute.

Royal Adelaide Hospital has approximately 670 beds and is situated in the centre of the city of Adelaide which is the capital city of South Australia, adjacent to the University of Adelaide and the Botanic Gardens, cafes and fine restaurants, art galleries, theatres, museums and shopping. Adelaide enjoys a delightful Mediterranean climate and is bordered by beautiful beaches and world renowned wineries.

Nursing Administration consists of a team of nurses who perform a range of functions that support the activities of the hospital. Nursing, Anaesthesia, Allied Health and General Services supports the Functional Services in the recruitment, quality management and resource management of the nursing services. The Nursing Service uses a fully computerised clinical information system - ExcelCare - which generates the nursing care plan, enables patient outcome measurement and determines hours per patient day, which interface with the rostering system - ProAct - to provide costing data and assist staffing modelling. These clinical systems are supported by Nursing staff in Nursing, Anaesthesia, Allied Health and General Services.

The management of the hospital is devolved to Functional Services, each headed by a nursing and medical director who equally share the management of the Service. They are assisted by a Resource Accountant Consultant and an Administrative Manager.

Although the management of the hospital has been devolved to Functional Services, nursing still maintains a corporate nursing entity in respect to professional issues and strategic planning. The Director of Nursing has an expanded role that incorporates the Intensive and High Dependency Care areas, the Operating Room Services, General Services and Allied Health.

The hospital has a Staff Development Department that provides and coordinates a wide range of courses, study days and workshops. This department also coordinates the hospital orientation sessions and the Graduate Nurse Program.

Established in collaboration with Royal Adelaide Hospital, the Department of Clinical Nursing at the University of Adelaide has been delivering postgraduate clinical education to RNs around the world since 1995. The focus of the department is on providing postgraduate education with excellence in clinical practice and high quality research in nursing practice. Nurses at RAH are encouraged to undertake the course relevant to their area of practice. The hospital supports nurses who pursue tertiary studies and they may be supported by paid study leave or fee subsidies.

The Joanna Briggs Institute is an international research organisation focusing on best practice and clinical practice improvement. JBI headquarters is located at Royal Adelaide Hospital.

The Centre for Evidence Based Nursing South Australia is also based at Royal Adelaide Hospital.