Who we are.

The Department of Anaesthesia at Western Health is renowned for its commitment to education and research. It has a long history of providing quality clinical education, hands on training and simulation for doctors, nurses and other allied health professionals.

Western Health Anaesthesia and Critical Care Simulation are a group of specialist anaesthetists at Western Health with an interest in medical education and simulation.

All our courses use a combination of teaching modalities to ensure our courses are hands-on, engaging and educational.

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A smiling male healthcare professional in scrubs and a surgical cap, holding a stethoscope in a medical setting with monitors and medical equipment in the background.
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  • Candida Marane is the head of Simulation and Emergency response training for the Department of Anaesthetics, Western Health and previously completed a Simulation and Medical Education fellowship at Western Health.

    She instructs on numerous anaesthetic and critical care courses including EMAC, ACE, NATCAT, NeoResus and PROMPT and has completed a graduate certificate in clinical education.

  • Jonathan completed a Simulation and Medical Education Fellowship at Western Health in 2018 after completing his training at various hospitals across Melbourne and regional Victoria.

    He instructs on a variety of courses both in-house and external to Western Health. He also conducts translational simulation programs for quality improvement and systems review.

    Jonathan’s clinical interests include anaesthesia for major hepatobiliary surgery and ENT surgery. He is also the department lead for robotic surgery and has interests in anaesthetic equipment and sustainable healthcare.

  • John Ozcan completed a fellowship at Western Health in 2016 as Principal Fellow and Medical Education and Simulation Fellow.

    He is Course Director for the Western Health Australian Resuscitation Council ALS2 course.

  • Lahiru Amaratunge completed a simulation fellowship at Western Health in 2013 after completing his anaesthesia training at the Alfred Hospital.

    He is an Advanced Life Support instructor for the Australian Resuscitation Council and co-ordinates BLS training for the Western Health Senior Medical Staff.

    He instructs on numerous courses including NATCAT, ACE and PROMPT.

  • Priya completed an Obstetric and Simulation Anaesthesia Fellowship at Western Health in 2021 following specialist anaesthesia training across tertiary and regional centres in Victoria.

    She is a consultant anaesthetist who directs and instructs on multiple in-house and external simulation and resuscitation courses.

    She is a core member of the New Footscray Hospital Operational Simulation Team contributing to whole-of-hospital system readiness and leads translational simulation initiatives to improve safety and care delivery across paediatric and obstetric services.

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