Department of Anaesthesia & Pain Medicine

Certificate IV - Anaesthetic Technology

INTRODUCTION

This certificate is the required qualification for anaesthetic technicians in WA. The course leading to the award of this certificate is run by Central TAFE (Mt Lawley) under licence from and in conjunction with Royal Perth Hospital. The objective of the course is to train students to a level that will ensure they have a thorough understanding of the theatre environment and anaesthetic equipment and can provide safe and dependable technical assistance to the anaesthetist.

RECOGNITION

The certificate is issued by TAFE and is nationally recognised. Prospective applicants are advised that the role of the anaesthetic technicians varies widely across the country and within the state of Western Australia. Within Western Australia, the major teaching hospitals and some of the larger private hospitals employ Anaesthetic Technicians to assist anaesthetists while other hospitals employ Anaesthetic Nurses who have recognised training as anaesthetic technicians and who can be "multi-skilled". Technicians without nursing qualifications will not be employed by these latter hospitals. Smaller hospitals have tended to employ unqualified nurses as anaesthetic assistants. The Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists has issued guidelines (P8-1993) about minimum standards of training for anaesthetic assistants which raise concerns about the employment of unqualified nurses in this role. Increasingly, the smaller hospitals are attempting to meet these
minimum standards by employing at least some anaesthetic technicians.

MINIMUM ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

Students must meet one of the following entry requirements.

Year 12 Secondary Graduation with passes in English and Science
Current registration as an Enrolled Nurse with the WA Nurses Board

APPLICATIONS

Enquiries about applications should be directed to:

The Administrative Support Officer for Health Services,Central TAFE,
Harold Street, Mt Lawley WA 6050; telephone: +61-8-94273786,

or email Alex Scorer.

Applications are usually processed in October each year and therefore should be submitted by September.

COURSE STRUCTURE

The course runs over two years. In the first year students are required to undertake a number of bridging units at TAFE. These are Basic Health Science and Anatomy & Physiology. These are undertaken in evening classes, usually two nights per week.

In the second year, students attend a series of evening lectures and complete a practical training programme. The lectures are given each week at Royal Perth Hospital usually on Tuesdays starting at 7.00pm and finishing at 9.00PM. The lecture programme begins in early February. The practical training programme requires students to attend on a full time basis for fourteen weeks. Students are rotated through the major Perth teaching hospitals (Royal Perth Hospital, Royal Perth Rehabilitation Hospital, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Princess Margaret Hospital, King Edward Memorial Hospital and St. John of God Hospital, Subiaco). During this time, a log book must be completed and a matrix of practical competencies is taught and assessed. The Practical Programme begins in early March. Depending on the number of students involved, the program may be split with one group starting in March and a second group starting in June. Students do not receive payment for any part of the course, including the 14 weeks of full time practical training.