Clinical Responsibilities: To act as an expert, autonomous practitioner, demonstrating advanced knowledge and skill beyond that associated with traditional nursing roles, including integration of research evidence into practice by expert clinical reasoning and decision-making. As an acknowledged expert in the provision of patient management, the consultant nurse will be responsible for the care and management of thoracic surgical patients requiring specific support within the specialist field of thoracic surgery in collaboration with clinicians.
Support and contribute to the development and learning of medical and nursing students and Doctors in training during clinical sessions. To utilise advanced clinical reasoning skills and evidence-based knowledge in the management of patients with highly complex presentations and to be clinically competent to utilise expert skills and knowledge in a variety of clinical settings.
Guidelines and Initiatives: To develop, establish and implement guidelines and nurse-led initiatives, particularly where precedents do not exist. To develop strategies for the process of referral of patients to the consultant Nurse clinics. To create, develop and design, with other multi-professional team members, care pathways for referral of the patients, with the aim of disseminating good practice and improving outcomes throughout the organisation.
Clinical Decision Making: To work autonomously and make independent clinical decisions and initiate investigations, care/treatment, and technological intervention. To direct and use the results of investigations to assist in the formulation of diagnoses and plan patient management from a range of interventions.
To interpret and analyse complex clinical and non-clinical facts, to regularly provide expert advice and second opinions to health care professionals, including when views may differ or conflict. This includes the formulation of accurate prognoses where possible.
To use expert theoretical and practical knowledge to refer to other departments/colleagues within or outside the organisation as necessary, relying on own interpretation of investigation results and expert clinical decision-making.
Collaboration: To work in collaboration with clinical teams and general management, in order to ensure there is a defined pathway of care for a patient including timely transfer or discharge. To work within trust guidelines in relation to non-medical prescribing practices for the supply and administration of medicines.
To utilise expert re-assessment to ensure that the management of planned intervention with other MDT members is maintained via the development of systematic processes of follow-up of patients within the service and wider health spectrum.
Communication: To demonstrate an expert ability to communicate highly complex and sensitive information to patients, carers, and other staff, where there may be barriers to communication or may include information about long-term/permanent disabilities. This must be done whilst ensuring confidentiality at all times and ensuring sensitivity to the audience's level of understanding and prior knowledge.
To be able to motivate others through advanced communication skills, using written and electronic information where needed. To effectively articulate their expert perspective on a patient's condition with colleagues when various management options are available.
Governance & Quality: To incorporate national and international standards into local practice. To inform and influence local management teams to ensure that the service responds to relevant national initiatives (e.g., NICE). To lead and interpret clinical policy change and provide expert recommendations to managers and local and national policy working parties.
To be responsible for any clinical risk management and competency-based training requirement that arises from such role development.
Service Development: To be responsible, with other core members of the Thoracic surgical team, for the strategic and operational planning of the service and the developments of nursing professional practice both in the organisation and across its partners. Contribute to the business planning process in service, initiating bids for resources where appropriate.
Involvement in the delivery of health and social care locally and nationally. To see new and follow-up patients in clinics. Outpatient management of patients with chest drains, pneumothorax, and empyema surveillance pre and post-surgery enabling improved patient care and experience, improved bed flow and efficiency.
To facilitate the integration of research into best practice. To develop nurse-led clinics to meet the needs of patients using the service. To create, develop and implement guidelines and protocols of care in partnership with local/national/international stakeholders. To contribute to and influence the national policy agenda.
To ensure that quality standards and effectiveness of patient care are continually monitored and improved in conjunction with local managers. Involved in workforce planning to meet service development and policy change. To identify appropriate outcome measures and service impact measures, which evaluate accurately patient response and service developments needs.
Training & Research: To provide clinical and professional leadership and career development for clinical teams. To give input into performance/appraisal review of appropriate staff.
To have a key responsibility for clinical teaching and staff development of peers and other health professionals within the clinical area, across the service and outside the organisation relating to chronic pain and advanced nursing practice. To develop formal links through partnerships with local universities and relevant professional bodies.
To assist in the local and national recruitment of staff as a clinical expert panel member. To provide clinical supervision to other staff and engage in own supervision. Authorised signatory and input into the budget control.
To lead the training and education needs of staff, at individual, team, and organisational level. To initiate new programmes of education and training, to facilitate changes in practice. To provide learning opportunities for nurses and other health care professionals via mentorship and supervision. This includes providing inter-professional support for staff of all disciplines.
To contribute to the development of the undergraduate and postgraduate training programmes locally and nationally in order to facilitate the advancement of structured, evidence-based career progression. Support education and research nationally and internationally by lecturing and through journal publications.
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