Job summary
This post will encompass both strategic service development and operational service delivery.
This post will encompass the four pillars of advanced practice: clinical practice, leadership, education, and research.
Main duties of the job
The post holder's own practice will be at an advanced level, ensuring that their contribution can both directly and indirectly influence all aspects of care and the management of patients within the hospice and the community setting.
The post holder will be a non-medical prescriber, utilizing these skills for the benefit of their patient/client group.
The post holder will provide a corporate function in advising the executive leadership team with professional nursing advice on palliative care services and service-related issues.
The post holder will be able to articulate and demonstrate a vision of areas of practice that can be developed beyond the current scope of nursing practice and demonstrate a commitment to the development of these areas both at a strategic level and at the bedside and community setting.
About us
St Giles Hospice is a registered charity founded in 1983 by the Reverend Paul Brothwell, originally to improve the care of local people dying with cancer.
We now support patients and their loved ones living with a terminal illness. Our dedicated team provides individually-tailored care, free of charge, either at the hospice or in patients' own homes across our communities.
We spend close to £10 million a year providing our specialist services. With just 18% of this funded by the Government, we rely heavily on donations and income generation from the local community.
Job description
Job responsibilities
The role entails but is not limited to:
Clinical Expert Practice Function
To be both professionally and legally accountable for all work undertaken and to practice at an advanced level of professional autonomy and accountability that is within the NMC codes of conduct and hospice policies/protocols.
To utilize advanced clinical reasoning skills and evidence-based knowledge in the management of patients with highly complex presentations/symptom management and to be clinically competent to utilize expert skills and knowledge in a variety of clinical settings.
To make independent clinical decisions and initiate investigations, care, treatment, and technological intervention within an agreed framework.
Undertake non-medical prescribing in accordance with hospice policy.
To develop and implement nurse-led clinics applicable to the post and specialty.
Develop and conduct skilled nursing interventions for all palliative care patients assessing their symptom control needs at an advanced level and addressing issues (psychological and coping mechanisms, social/spiritual/practical/ethical needs, and quality of life) within the agreed framework. Ensuring working in partnership with a range of health care professionals as required.
To maintain up-to-date clinical records in accordance with hospice policy and NMC code of conduct.
To monitor, evaluate, and review nursing practice and to modify approaches to clinical care as required, keeping the Deputy Director of Clinical Services updated as appropriate.
To participate in the development of clinical expertise in palliative care nursing enabling nurses to develop advanced assessment and decision-making skills (including both the inpatient and community CNS Team).
To work in close collaboration with the palliative care consultants/nurse consultants across the West Midlands palliative care network.
To work in collaboration with clinical teams/general management to ensure there are defined pathways of care for palliative care patients, facilitating a timely transfer between settings/discharge of patients with appropriate follow-up services within the community, encouraging continuity of care.
Line management responsibilities appropriate to the role.
The Professional Leadership
The post holder will:
Engage with appropriate agencies as a nurse leader in the development of innovative nursing practice and initiatives.
Develop this role to strengthen nurse leadership within the organization.
Act in a consultancy role in promoting the development of advanced nursing practice in collaboration with the Deputy Director of Clinical Services.
Act as a specialist resource for health care professionals and provide advice and share information both internally and externally to the organization.
In partnership with the Director of Clinical Services, contribute to the Clinical Governance agenda within the nursing division, aiming to secure quality improvements within the inpatient units and the community settings, organization, and local health economy-wide basis.
Work collaboratively with the Director of Clinical Services and Executive Leadership Team both within and outside the organization to influence the strategic allocation of resources.
Articulate the significance and potential impact of government policies as they relate to practice and future developments. Actively seek opportunities to influence local and national policy development through clear and precise articulation of patient and service requirements/needs.
Demonstrate confident competence in direct patient care in terms of working as a peer with other consultant colleagues, seeking further expert clinical advice/assessment as appropriate.
Act as a role model and advisor for nurses within the organization and the wider arena as appropriate.
Review policies/SOPs as and when needed.
Facilitate discussion of contentious issues where there is disagreement about best treatment and care or where best treatment and care is ethically problematic, unknown, or unique.
Instigate and manage specialist interventions used in acute/crisis clinical situations with a nurse-led specialist clinical focus:
- Promoting health through accurate, individualized, and timely information.
- Preventing and recognizing life-threatening complications through rapid assessment and physical examination.
- Maintaining health and supporting life through the instigation and management of complex and specialty-directed interventions.
The Education Training and Development Function
Actively support the training and educational lead on the formulation of plans to meet the training and education needs of staff, at an individual, team, and organizational level.
Facilitate new programs of education and training in partnership with the training and educational lead to facilitate changes within practice as and when required.
Provide learning opportunities for nurses and other health care professionals via clinical supervision and mentorship. This includes providing inter-professional support for all appropriate disciplines of staff.
Contribute to the development of the local undergraduate and postgraduate training programs to facilitate the advancement of a structured, evidence-based career progression within the palliative care specialty.
Disseminate innovations in practice, research, and education both nationally and internationally through publication and conference presentations.
Assist Nurse Leaders within the organization (e.g., Deputy Director of Clinical Services) to develop a culture of empowerment for staff to become accountable for their practice through professional education.
Take a leading role in the development of nursing research within palliative care as well as inform and contribute to the organization's Research and Development Strategy. This includes taking a leading role in the development and preparation of research proposals relevant to palliative care services to attract internal or external grants if appropriate and/or offering support or guidance to students or research teams undertaking projects/studies within this specialty.
In partnership with the Director of Clinical Services, develop benchmarking initiatives relating to palliative care services.
Service Development
Together with the Director of Clinical Services and Executive Leadership Team, participate in the implementation of palliative care strategies across the organization incorporating national standards into local practice.
Work in partnership with Nursing Leaders to create, develop, and implement guidelines and protocols of care relevant to palliative care services patients and ensure appropriate education programs are created to achieve the patient/staff requirements.
In partnership with the Director of Clinical Services, provide expert input for the specialty to the organization's quality agenda/strategy ensuring that patient needs are expressed in a whole systems approach rather than a uni-professional view.
Develop innovations between the hospice and other agencies to ensure equity and access to the services as per organizations service agreements.
Ensure that the hospice KPIs involving the specialty services are met. Interpret clinical policy change as it relates to hospice services and keep the management as well as the clinical team informed.
Respond to palliative care inpatient and community service user feedback by ongoing evaluation and identification of emerging trends, being a key member of any initiative bringing about service change/development/redesign.
Take a strategic view of the delivery of care within the specialty and how other specialties can combine to improve patient experience and outcome.
Communication
Motivate and persuade others through advanced communication skills.
Provide clinical supervision to other staff as appropriate.
Make all reasonable efforts to resolve verbal complaints as they occur and ensure in-depth knowledge of the hospice's formal complaints procedure can be demonstrated as and when required.
Diffuse potentially hostile and antagonistic situations with staff, patients, carers, and relatives, using highly developed interpersonal and negotiation skills.
Demonstrate an expert ability to communicate highly sensitive/complex information to patients, relatives, carers, and other staff, where there may be barriers to communication (e.g., hostility, language, or learning difficulties). This must be done ensuring confidentiality at all times and sensitivity to the recipient's level of understanding and/or knowledge.
Advanced written and electronic communication skills are also required.
Just so you know:
We may review applications before the application review date; however, if you apply after the application review date, your application may not be considered. We will accept applications until we have successfully filled the role, which may be earlier than the closing date.
If you have not heard within 14 days of the application close date, then please consider that your application has been unsuccessful at this time.
As part of your application, your data will be managed in line with St Giles Hospice Privacy Policy and kept for 6 months. If you would like to see this in full, please visit https://www.stgileshospice.com/privacy-policy/
Person Specification
Personal Attributes
Essential
* Empathetic
* Team Player
* Able to work under pressure
* Collaborative
* Ambassador for St Giles Hospice
Experience
Essential
* Evidence of continuing professional development
* Experience of working in multi-agency/professional working
* A successful track record of change management and practice development
* To have inspired recognition as an expert and innovator in the field
* Evidence of leadership training
* Experience of managing staff and difficult and sensitive people issues
* Teaching experience
* Published papers and presentations
* Experience of research, study, design, and implementation
* Proven experience and work within deadlines
* Evidence of participation in clinical audit
* Commitment to continuing improvement of service delivery and care
* Team Working:-
* Working across professional boundaries and organizations.
* Working with academic institutions
* Clinical Governance:-
* In-depth knowledge of research methodologies and application of theory to practice
* Initiating and facilitating change and service redesign
* Familiar with concepts of clinical supervision and learning sets
* Experience of eliciting feedback from patients and carers and of incorporating this in the planning, delivery, and evaluation of services
Qualifications
Essential
* First level registration with NMC (Degree level)
* Advanced communication course
* Masters Degree in advanced clinical practice
* Non-medical prescribing qualification
Desirable
* Recognised palliative care nursing qualification
* Teaching qualification
Skills
Essential
* Proven leadership skills at a senior level
* Ability to write for publications
* Ability to think strategically
* Developed political awareness
* Developed patient care skills
* Time management skills
* Professional role model as an advanced practitioner within the specialty of palliative care
* Ability to write clear, concise and relevant reports, communicate orally, and in writing with clarity and precision
* Computer literate
* Excellent communication & interpersonal skills
Other Requirements
Essential
* Valid driving licence
* Eligibility to work in the UK
* Please note that St Giles Hospice does not hold a sponsorship licence and is therefore unable to accept sponsorship requests
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. #J-18808-Ljbffr