Precise antibiotic dosage found to reduce postoperative complications in common surgical procedure

Mr Ram Nataraja

New research led by Mr Ram Nataraja from the Department of Paediatrics has demonstrated the precise antibiotic post-operative dosage which can significantly reduce wound infection rates amongst children who undergo a simple appendicectomy.

Monash researchers evaluate world-first study involving stem cells for premature babies with chronic lung disease

Monash researchers with one of the
infants involved in the study.

Monash University researchers have assessed the long-term outcomes of their world-first study that used placental stem cells in premature babies with severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia, a form of chronic lung disease.

Using simulation to improve outcomes for babies in Myanmar

A Monash University researcher has used simulation to teach local Myanmar surgeons how to treat a common yet life-threatening condition affecting babies.

Dr Arvind Sehgal receives Emerge Health award

The Department of Paediatrics, Dr Arvind Sehgal, has been awarded the 2019 Emerge Health Australian and New Zealand Neonatal Network Award for Cardiorespiratory Research.

MMC/MCH Site Alert: The Walking Bus

The Monash Medical Centre site introduced a Staff Walking Bus late last year. A Staff Walking Bus is an opportunity for staff to assemble together to walk to a common destination.

Monash neonatologist to chair at the DOHaD World Congress

Dr Arvind Sehgal, Neonatologist and Head, Cardiovascular Research at Monash Children’s Hospital and Professor of Pediatrics, Monash University has been invited to chair at the DOHaD World Congress which will be held in Melbourne, Australia in October 2019.

MMC/MCH Site Alert: Planned Code Yellow - Black Start Exercise - Wednesday, 18 September 2019

Monash Medical Centre (MMC) and Monash Children’s Hospital (MCH) have scheduled the annual Planned Code Yellow “Black Start” emergency power supply exercise for Wednesday, 18 September 2019.

MMC/MCH Site Alert: Planned Code Yellow - Black Start Exercise - Wednesday, 18 September 2019

Monash Medical Centre (MMC) and Monash Children’s Hospital (MCH) have scheduled the annual Planned Code Yellow “Black Start” emergency power supply exercise for Wednesday, 18 September 2019.

World-first clinical trial could see nasal spray treatment reduce snoring in children

Associate Professor Gillian Nixon

Researchers at Monash Children’s Hospital and the Royal Children’s Hospital are collaborating on a world first clinical trial to see if a simple nasal spray can reduce the need for surgery for snoring in children. 

Monash Medical Student Simulation Survey

Monash Children's Hospital are currently conducting a research project to assess what current student experiences and attitudes to simulation based education at university are. They are using this survey to evaluate the current use of simulation based education and to gain an understanding of the current advantages and limitations of simulation based education while at medical school.

Year 2 medical students present research at international conferences

Kunal Sehgal with Professor Steve Abman,
Director, Pediatric Heart
Lung Center, University of Colorado

Monash University year 2 medical students, Kartik Sehgal and Kunal Sehgal, have presented their research findings at the recent Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand Annual Meeting on the Gold Coast in March, and at the Pediatric Academic Societies Meeting (PAS) in Baltimore, Maryland this month.

Blood vessels like a 70 year old: Scientists find cause of fetal growth restriction

Around 5 percent of babies born in Australia are just a third of the size they should be and suffer lifelong health complications as part of a condition known as fetal growth restriction (FGR).

FGR means their growth slows or stops during pregnancy, often due to problems with the placenta, but the exact cause is a mystery. If severe, the baby is delivered prematurely, increasing the risk of death or health problems.

Now, Monash University research has found the answer lies in the blood vessels of the placenta and newborn.

Monash University State of the Art Simulation Facility to Train Students for Pediatric Emergencies

Dr Ram Nataraja

In the same way that flight simulators are used to prepare pilots for emergencies a new world-class facility at Monash Children’s Hospital is preparing the next generation of paediatricians and paediatric surgeons to predict, prevent and manage emergencies in a busy hospital environment.

Monash University’s Paediatric Simulation Centre, which operates fully in the new Monash Children’s Hospital, has a purpose built operating  theatre, paediatric and neonatal ward and procedures rooms. These are controlled, videoed and monitored remotely to provide students with “real life” emergencies such as resuscitating a baby in a ward, or inserting a catheter into a child with cancer (a major source of infection if done poorly).

Monash University medical intern, Dr Sam Alexander, recently completed a study, to be published later this year, that compared experienced paediatric surgeons, surgical trainees and medical students on how they performed two types of complex laparoscopic procedures using a surgical simulation model.

The models have been designed to easily and cheaply produced and able to be taken  home by students for practice. 

The study found that the scores achieved by each of the three groups mirrored the level of surgical experience. 

According to Dr Alexander, the study showed that simple surgical models like the ones developed by him – which included high tensile plastic to simulate muscle and thin, tearable material to represent more delicate tissue – can assist in the training of medical students. 

“As a student I would have had access to the expensive surgical models at best 4 times during my training, and always under supervision,” he said.

“Developing new, transportable, cheap simulation models means that students can develop strong surgical techniques at home, and they can also be used in training doctors in remote areas.”

Director of the Surgical Simulation Unit and Co-Chair of MCH Simulation, Dr Ram Nataraja, says the facilities are unique in Australia and have been designed with the goal of training students in all types of paediatric emergencies, “so that they are better prepared when the real event happens.”

The simulation rooms –simulating wards for either a newborn and/or a child and the operating room – are set up exactly as they would be in a hospital. 

“My experience is that medical students, put into a hospital or surgical environment tend to stay in corners, often too intimidated by their environment to ask questions or even come forward and observe,” Dr Nataraja said. 

“This is something that I remember from my student days, and these educational spaces allows students to become familiar with these clinical environments earlier than usual”.

“These facilities also allow us to let students make mistakes in a safe environment, to find their role in an emergency.”

The rooms are monitored through a one-way mirror and the supervisor can trigger an emergency, using a very life like model of a child or baby, that sends a normal ward room into one where a child needs emergency resuscitation.

The whole process is filmed and then the students review how the procedure went with their supervisor. In some cases, according to Dr Nataraja, the situations are so life like that students can become very distressed, “and we have a private debriefing room for those students who may become a bit overwhelmed, in addition to the normal debriefing room following the simulation activities”

MCH Simulation with Monash University will also become a centre for research into Simulation-Based Medical Education, helping to improve the evidence base for this important part of medical education. 

Vulnerable newborns benefit from latest equipment at MCH

Dr Malhotra at the new MCH

Some of the most vulnerable patients at the new Monash Children’s Hospital (MCH) are now benefitting from a state-of-the-art transport system, the first of its kind in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in Australia.

Neonatologist at Monash Children’s Hospital Dr Atul Malhotra said that with the recent move to the new MCH, the transport system for sick babies was also upgraded, including an incubator, ventilator and humidifier system not in widespread use across the world.

“Our new transport incubator keeps the smallest, most vulnerable of infants warm when they’re first born,” said Dr Malhotra, who is also a Monash University researcher and senior lecturer.

“Our upgraded ventilator, which is generally used in transport of sick patients in ambulances, helicopters and airplanes between hospitals, together with a portable humidification device, gives us the capacity to perform sophisticated invasive or non-invasive ventilation right from the delivery room (birth suite or theatre).”

Thanks to this new equipment, vulnerable newborns at MCH receive the standard of care delivered in the NICU from the exact moment they are born and during transport to NICU.  This includes modes of ventilation previously not available during transport from the birth suite to the NICU. 

Dr Malhotra said that no other hospital in Australia currently has this equipment available for in-hospital transport of newborns.

Monash University is lead research and teaching partner for new Children’s Hospital

Victoria’s capacity to deliver outstanding health care to children and adolescents has been enhanced with the opening of the new Monash Children’s Hospital, in partnership with Monash University.

Opened today by the Premier of Victoria, the Honourable Daniel Andrews MP, the new hospital is located at the Monash Medical Centre Campus in Clayton and adjoins the Monash Health Translation Precinct.

Monash University is the hospital’s lead teaching and translational research partner: its innovative approach to education and teaching and its world-leading translational research in paediatrics will help enable the hospital to provide both exceptional health care and training for the future workforce. The University has invested AUD $6 million towards innovative new education and research spaces in the hospital.

Monash President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Margaret Gardner AO said the new Monash Children’s Hospital demonstrates the deep engagement between the University’s world leading researchers and educators and its partner Monash Health to deliver real impact to the local community:

“The Monash Children’s Hospital is an exciting addition to the Monash Health Translation Precinct and Monash Medical Centre, for which the University plays a leading role in both research and education,” Professor Gardner said.

“Add to this our proximity to leading research in biomedicine and cognition through the Institutes of Biomedical Discovery and of Cognitive and Clinical Neurosciences and there is a system of research, education and clinical practice to enhance health outcomes for children.”

Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences Professor Christina Mitchell said that the new hospital would lead to improved health outcomes for young people in the local community and beyond:

“By bringing together excellent paediatric clinicians - who are also pioneering researchers - into this dynamic new space, the Monash Children’s Hospital has the potential to save the lives of many children,” Professor Mitchell said.

Located at the Monash Medical Centre Campus in Clayton and adjoining the Monash Health Translation Precinct, the Monash Children’s Hospital houses a world-class collaborative education and research space located in a dedicated Monash University zone within the hospital.

The collaborative education space includes a medical simulation centre, a procedural skills laboratory, tutorial areas and open plan space for researchers, as well as a leading edge paediatric surgical simulation centre, enabling students to experience the environment of an operating theatre.

Professor Eric Morand, Head of the Monash University School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health said that the new research and education facilities will be of enormous benefit to paediatric researchers and to the training of the medical workforce of the future:

“The new Monash Children’s Hospital will be the University’s research and education headquarters for paediatrics,” Professor Morand said.

“This new education and training space ensures our students have access to state-of-the-art facilities for learning and our researchers are embedded in the fabric of the hospital.”

Monash Children's Hospital Community Open Day (2 April): VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

We need your help to make the Community Open Day a success.  Volunteers are required as tour marshals, for registrations, event precinct marshals, car parking marshals, kids zone/activities and pre-event set up.

This will be the first time the new Monash Children's Hospital is open to the public.  Let's work together to ensure this historic event is a memorable one.

To be part of this landmark event, register your interest to volunteer HERE:  https://www.vision6.com.au/forms/s/c1fa654/49435/586105/243471.html

Monash Children's Hospital Community Open Day 2 April

More information here:  http://www.monashchildrenshospital.org/about-monash-childrens-hospital/new-hospital/open-day/

Monash Children's Hospital Information Session, 23 February

All staff are invited to the New Monash Children's Hospital Information Session:

     Thursday February 23,  2-3pm

     Monash Medical Centre Lecture Theatre 1

What will I learn?

·         Hear the latest exciting project news from Project Director Kym Forrest

·         Bring along any question that you may have about the new hospital and be part of the Q&A

Walk for Monash Children's Hospital, 5 March

The Walk for Monash Children’s Hospital is taking place on Sunday, March 5 at Jells Park in Wheelers Hill.  Join the Hudson ‘team’ in the walk by REGISTERING in the team 'Hudson Institute' or by contacting Belinda Pelle at belinda.pelle@hudson.org.au

With the long-awaited new Monash Children’s Hospital set to open in early 2017, Hudson Institute will be participating in the walk to support the work of our precinct partners, as well as young patients and their families.

Our researchers including Dr Jason Cain’s group in the Centre for Cancer Research and Professor Rosemary Horne’s infant and child health group in the Ritchie Centre undertake amazing research with the help of clinical collaborations and links with Monash Children’s Hospital.

Choose from a 1km / 5km / 10km walk or a 5km / 10km run. This is a family friendly, non-competitive event for all ages!

There will be lots of activities on the day with an animal farm, Kid Zone, and FREE massages as well as fantastic food trucks and entertainment.

It would be great to see as many staff and students as possible there!

Monash neonatal consultant to present expert session

Associate Professor Arvind Sehgal

Associate Professor Arvind Sehgal, Neonatal consultant at Monash Newborn, Monash Children's Hospital has been invited to host a 'Meet the Expert' session at the  Annual Congress of the Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand, in Canberra, 2-5 April 2017.

The session titled, 'Fetal Growth Restriction: Practical Aspects' will be jointly conducted by Associate Professor Sehgal, Professor Euan Wallace and Dr Ryan Hodges.

“We will cover practical considerations for obstetricians when to deliver an IUGR pregnancy based on RANZCOG guidelines, effects of antenatal interventions and lastly, the cardiovascular manifestations in the post natal period,” said Associate Professor Sehgal.