Nursing
About The Organisation
About Nursing at Royal Rehab
Employment Options for Nurses
Undergraduate Nursing Casual Pool
New Graduate Program
How We Support You
Rehabilitation Nursing Development Program - From Research Into Practice - The Continuing Journey
About The Organisation
The Royal Rehabilitation Centre Sydney (Royal Rehab), Ryde, has spent over 100 years refining its expertise to deliver quality disability and rehabilitation services to our patients and residents.
Our ongoing service is built on a foundation of acquired knowledge, experience, and research within a diverse and integrated organisation with in-patient, residential, and community based programs.
Our rehabilitation specialties include spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, neurological, orthopaedic, cancer, burns and aged care rehabilitation which are managed in three units - the Spinal Injuries Unit, Brain Injury Unit, and Adult Rehabilitation. Residential care is provided to our disability clients in the Extended Care Service.
Our community programs include Home Based Rehabilitation, Spinal Outreach, the Brain Injury Rehabilitation Community Team, and over twenty houses accommodating disability clients.
About Nursing at Royal Rehab
Nursing at the Royal Rehab is underpinned by evidence based practice made possible by a strong commitment to research and nursing development. We are proud of being the first rehabilitation facility to have had a Chair in Rehabilitation Nursing in Australasia.
Our patients and clients are special, the majority of who have been through a traumatic life changing experience. We pride ourselves in our nursing staff and consider them to be very special people themselves, as they demonstrate commitment to their clients, the organisation, and rehabilitation nursing everyday.
Our nurses come from a variety of nursing backgrounds and experience. To ensure their growth as rehabilitation nurses we have designed and implemented the Rehabilitation Nursing Development Program (RNDP). This program commences on induction and assists our nurses to develop in the areas in which they may have a special interest or require more skills and knowledge to practice.
All our nurses are encouraged to contribute to the rehabilitation and disability nursing body of knowledge through their every day practice, reflection, and participation in quality and research projects as either investigators or subjects.
New nurses receive an excellent and comprehensive orientation to the organisation, the Nursing Service, and the units. Each is assigned a unit preceptor and an external mentor. All our Registered Nurses attend a RNDP study day to complete their orientation. The induction period spans three months ensuring the new nurse is thoroughly orientated, during which time opportunities for professional growth and learning new skills are identified.
Employment Options for Nurses
The Nursing Service at the Royal Rehab provides work opportunities for all classifications of nursing – registered nurses, enrolled nurses, trainee enrolled nurses, assistants in nursing, and trainee assistants in nursing.
We believe it is important that our nurses are able to balance their working lives, professional interests and their lives at home and so offer a range of employment options.
Permanent Full Time and Part Time – we offer flexible, negotiated rostering including shorter shifts if that is your preference. Shorter shifts are a great solution for those juggling work, children, study and other commitments. For the night owls we have permanent 10 hour night shifts. There is no need for day staff to rotate on to nights unless at their request.
Nurses may choose to be based in one unit to enable specialisation or if the nurse prefers to diversify their clinical skills they may rotate through a number of clinical units to identify an interesting specialty to work in e.g. spinal, neurological , aged care or disability.
Casual Pool – our casual nurses are vital to the smooth operations of the nursing service, back filling leave and staffing vacancies. As a member of our casual pool you are in total control of your working days and hours – just name them.
Returning to the Nursing Work Force or Changing Nursing Specialty – we create individualised programs for those new to rehabilitation nursing focusing on their learning needs to help them feel confident and become competent as quickly as possible.
For those who have been out of the workforce for a prolonged period we link with the Re-Connect Program offering you 13 weeks of employment whilst you gain the skills and knowledge essential in today’s clinical environment. Four clinical workshops complete the program and you will be offered ongoing employment on satisfactory completion of the program.
Trainee Enrolled Nurse (TEN) – we employ nine TENs at Royal Rehab each year. Our TENs study at TAFE Meadowbank and North Sydney and complete their first eight weeks of clinical practice at the Centre. Surgical, medical, and specialty placements are completed at our partnering acute facilities locally.
Trainee Assistants in Nursing – we source trainee Assistants in Nursing from the Health Industry Group Training Company (HIGTC). Our trainees are offered 12 months employment in the Extended Care Service, our residential facility for severely disabled clients, whilst they complete their Certificate III.
Undergraduate Nursing Casual Pool
The Nursing Service Undergraduate Casual Pool provides the opportunity for undergraduate nursing students in 2nd and 3rd year of their Bachelor of Health Science – Nursing to develop and consolidate their clinical skills in a fully supported program.
It allows for flexible work hours to enable the undergraduate nurse to choose when they wish to work - perfect conditions for those last minute assignments.
Our team of Nurse Educators, Clinical Nurse Consultants and Nurse Unit Managers understand that the undergraduate nurse needs to feel confident and to be competent in their clinical practice.
Clinical opportunities are planned according to a mastery of competency assessments, which are based on the theoretical component of the university curriculum. You will not be expected to practice at a level you haven’t been prepared for.
We value the undergraduate nursing students and the contribution they make to our patients’ care, and orientate and support them in the same manner as a permanent member of our nursing staff.
Recruitment to the casual pool is ongoing throughout the year and we look forward to discussing your needs with you.
New Graduate Program
The Nursing Service at Royal Rehab recruits new graduates individually throughout the year.
It is a individualized program with the flexibility to enable the new graduate to commence their program when they are able. This provides the opportunity to have that well earned holiday.
The New Graduate Program is customised and developed to meet the learning needs of the individual in consultation with the Nurse Educator, Clinical Nurse Consultant and Nurse Unit Manager and yourself.
The program may be as diverse as the new graduate wishes, enabling the new graduate to rotate through a number of specialty units, set at a pace to allow the opportunity to settle into and become an integral part of the nursing services team.
To round off your experience we are able to organise an acute clinical rotation with one of our partnering health facilities – an option we recommend.
The team of Nurse Educators at Royal Rehab will assist with your transitional learning progress throughout your program by providing personal support and expert advice and teaching.
Also, the New Graduate is allocated a mentor to guide him or her through what can be a stressful time as the transition is made from student to clinician. In addition all our new graduates participate in the Rehabilitation Nursing Development Program and selected study days.
How We Support You
The Nursing Service at the Royal Rehab is committed to supporting all our nursing staff, and believe it is particularly important for our new recruits.
We provide both clinical and personal support as well as other benefits to facilitate your nursing success whilst at Royal Rehab.
Clinical
- Comprehensive orientation and induction process
- Preceptorship and mentorship
- Clinical Nurse Specialist positions in all units
- Clinical Nurse Consultants in Rehabilitation, Disability, and Brain Injury Nursing
- After Hours Nurse Managers
- Active Learning and Development programs
- Annual performance review to identify your areas of interest and professional development needs
Personal
- Flexible rostering to ensure our nurses are able to balance their working lives with their lives away from work
- A variety of leave options as per the Public Hospital Nurses’ (State) Award
- Access to an Employee Assistance Scheme (EAP)
- On site Staff Psychologist
- Zero tolerance to bullying and harassment
Other Benefits
- Free on site parking
- Free uniforms
- Free flu vaccination
- Short term on site accommodation at reasonable rates
- Clinical library and internet access
- Generous study leave for post graduate study and professional development
Rehabilitation Nursing Development Program - From Research Into Practice - The Continuing Journey
Historically the development of rehabilitation nursing has occurred in a fragmented and disjointed manner and this is evident in Pryor’s (1996) work on ‘How Prepared Are Nurses For Practice In Rehabilitation Settings’.
The Nursing Service within Royal Rehab has addressed this unstructured introduction into the specialty of rehabilitation nursing through the development and implementation of a Rehabilitation Nursing Development Program (RNDP).
The RNDP is a professional development program for registered nurses working in rehabilitation settings. The program works within a professional development system, which encompasses induction, performance review, mentorship, and ongoing learning opportunities.
It assists individual nurses to progress their professional development and contribute to the development of the wider nursing service to deliver quality, evidence-based services to patients and their families.
All registered nurses within the rehabilitation units at Royal Rehab negotiate an individualised program for their professional development. This is conducted in collaboration with Nurse Unit Managers, with support from Clinical Nurse Consultants, Nurse Educators, Clinical Nursing Coordinators, and their mentors.
Registered nurses identify their professional development needs through the use of the Australasian Rehabilitation Nursing Competency Standards 2003 as a framework for the speciality practice of rehabilitation nursing, and unit based audits of patient problems to guide their learning needs.
Learning is supported by a unique resource, developed by the nursing service at the Royal Rehab RNDP study days throughout each year.
Ultimately it is expected that the program will enhance job satisfaction for our valued rehabilitation nurses, through the provision of a unified approach to supporting clients and families, to enhances rehabilitation outcomes for our patients.
We look forward to discussing your employment needs with you.
Please direct enquiries to Deputy Director of Nursing
dianne.newey@royalrehab.com.au
Workforce Co-ordinator
nicole.wallington@royalrehab.com.au
Phone: 61 2 9807 1144
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