Metro North Health

Almost 10,000 surgeries are performed every year at TPCH but none of these would be possible without a team of highly trained anaesthetists. 💉😴

Dr Andrei who is originally from Russia has spent the last year at TPCH as a Staff Specialist in Anaesthetics.

"I've practiced in Russia, South Africa, now Australia, it’s very interesting to travel through different countries and systems, seeing environments I thought I'd never see in my life. I think I became a better anaesthetist due to the [Australian] training," said Dr Andrei.

"I prefer to work in orthopaedics and trauma, and this is a smaller hospital which is not as busy as the RBWH for example so it's a smaller department and I recognise and get to know people, there's lots of support.

"Although I am on general side of anaesthetics, I am attracted to the cardiac specialty and working in the cardiac centre is very interesting, the cardiac team has a lot of experience." 🫀

Join Dr Andrei and the TPCH Anaesthetics team by clicking the link in the comments to apply for a role today!

"I read non-stop, it’s a great way to have a conversation with someone else. I've got a degree in English literature, so I don’t have one particular favourite genre, sometimes I'll pick up something different and really enjoy it. At the moment I'm reading a lot of thrillers, which I never thought I'd like but have been really enjoyable. I've worked as a scholar, as a teacher aide, and teaching English to people who speak other languages. I really enjoy language in general. I always just think put a smile on your face and be nice to people without over doing it. Being here it makes you a little more compassionate and you have no idea what people are going through."

💭 Monday Mantra, Lexie, STARS Rehabilitation Patient

Metro North is home to Genetic Health Queensland, the state-wide service that provides diagnosis, treatment and counselling for people diagnosed with a wide range of genetic conditions. 🧬

Principal Genetic Counsellor Bhavya and Clinical Geneticist Megan are part of the team that help connect the dots between family history and rare conditions to give patients answers.

'We see outpatients who are referred in by their GP, children with genetic syndromes, those with genetic heart conditions, kidney conditions or even cancer," Megan said.

"We also see family members of people who have been diagnosed to see if they are at risk of having the same condition.

"A big part of our work is pregnant patients, when they have a foetus with congenital anomalies
we can work out pathways for testing and managing this through pregnancy."

This week our Gannet House residents travelled to Croatia without even leaving the dining room! ✈️

Recreational Officer Julie explains how the team at our Brighton residential aged care facility plan different activities each week such as cultural days and happy hour to keep their residents engaged socially.

"We do a different country every month; either places our residents may come from or where they have always wanted to go but never have," said Julie.

"We have activities like armchair travel and cultural day, and our kitchen always hops on board to do a cultural dish."

Gannet House resident Janine says that these activities always ensure the house stays in good spirits.

"We have happy hour every fortnight where we all get together as friends, have a few drinks, play some music, and have a laugh together," she says.

"We go on bus trips, shopping outings, and they also get entertainment brought in as well.

"The important thing is to join in if you can, not to stay in your room. [The residents] become our family and such good friends."

Don't let a drop in temperature mean a drop in your mood - there are things you can do to look after yourself! 🥶❤️

Clinical Psychologist Henry talks us through the impact of weather on mood, and the importance of maintaining exercise and social routines, despite the feeling of wanting to 'hibernate' in the cooler months.

"I think getting out as much as possible, especially in the sunlight during these shorter days helps. If you have a long commute or you're indoors for so long, it can get hard to be more in sync with the natural light," he says.

"We find that other lifestyle factors impact as well. On colder days we feel less inclined to exercise, we may want to sleep in later, but it's important to find a movement that works for you, and it doesn’t have to be the gym, it can be walking, dancing, whatever you enjoy.

"My day to day at the moment is supporting patients in the GEMS ward which are patients 65 and over. I always try and get patients on the balcony in the sunlight as much as possible, the consistent ward lighting can throw you out of whack." 🌞

"I was diagnosed with cancer about two years ago. The staff are awesome here and I’m cancer free now, I was doing ice machine rentals, but now just enjoying some time off. I love fishing, but I'm a single dad to a daughter so spend lots of time at dance and gymnastics. I say do what you want to do and don't hesitate. If it turns out bad, then it turns out bad but if you just give it a crack. it might turn out good."

💭 Monday Mantra, Dane, Bribie Island Satellite Health Centre Cancer Care Patient