Job overview
An exciting opportunity has arisen for an enthusiastic nurse to work full time 37.5 hours per week within a multi-disciplinary team, providing nutrition support at Barts Health NHS Trust for a fixed term of 9 months. This post covers complex artificial enteral nutrition support, as well as inpatient and outpatient home parenteral nutrition.
By integrating the four key aspects of clinical practice, service management, education and research, the post holder will lead and collaborate with the multidisciplinary team to further develop and monitor standards of nutritional care.
The role demands the commitment to provide specialist nutritional clinical support to patients, their families/carers and health professionals throughout the Trust. The successful applicant will work closely with the Adult Nutrition Support multidisciplinary team to ensure a high quality of care is delivered to patients. There will be opportunity to work across Barts Health as the service develops.
In return for your dedication to the role, we can offer supportive working and a learning environment to enable the post holder to thrive both personally and professionally, whilst promoting progression in skill and expert knowledge within the Adult Nutrition Support Team and Barts Health.
Main duties of the job
The post holder will act as one of the Nutrition Specialist Nurse for patients within Barts Health NHS Trust and will share responsibility for the initiation and development of services with medical staff.
She/he will participate in assessing, planning, implementing, and evaluating the Nutrition service, and be active in the development of protocols, guidelines, policies, integrated care pathways, clinical research trials and audit tools.
Whilst holding a clinical caseload for in-patients and out-patients, they will work closely with colleagues to offer support/advice for the clinical management of patients within the hospital setting, outpatient clinics and via the telephone. The post holder is accountable for developing and facilitating the provision of enteral and parenteral nutrition across the Trust and to oversee and participate in the nurse management of patients receiving artificial nutritional support.
To develop, implement and evaluate a seamless nutrition support service that is aimed at continuously improving standards of patient care, and facilitate multi professional working. This will be achieved through clinical practice, management, education, research and audit and professional activities, taking into account corporate and divisional objectives and within the governance framework.
Working for our organisation
Barts Health is one of the largest NHS trusts in the country, and one of Britain’s leading healthcare providers.
The Barts Health group of NHS hospitals is entering an exciting new era on our improvement journey to becoming an outstanding organisation with a world-class clinical reputation. Having lifted ourselves out of special measures, we now have the impetus and breathing space to chart a fresh course in which we are continually striving to improve all our services for patients.
Our vision is to be a high-performing group of NHS hospitals, renowned for excellence and innovation, and providing safe and compassionate care to our patients in east London and beyond. That means being a provider of excellent patient safety, known for delivering consistently high standards of harm-free care and always caring for patients in the right place at the right time. It also means being an outstanding place to work, in which our WeCare values and behaviours are visible to all and guide us in how we work together.
We strive to live by our WeCare values and are committed to promoting inclusion, where every staff member has a sense of belonging. We value our differences and fully advocate, cultivate and support an inclusive working environment.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
The full job description provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience, and knowledge required. For both documents, please view the attachment/s below.
Person specification
Qualifications and Knowledge
Essential criteria
1. Current NMC registration
2. Intravenous accreditation.
3. Mentorship course or equivalent.
4. 5 years post qualification experience plus 2 years relevant experience of enteral and parenteral nutrition.
5. Fulfills KSF outline for Staff Nurse (Band 6).
6. Specialist expertise underpinned by theoretical knowledge, and broad experience in the management of highly complex patients receiving artificial nutritional support.
7. Level of understanding and working within the clinical governance framework.
8. Understanding of legal and professional ethics and their application in practice.
Desirable criteria
9. BSc Nursing or working towards.
10. Evidence of post registration education in nutrition.
Experience and Skills
Essential criteria
11. Experience of delivering undergraduate student supervision.
12. Ability to problem solve, analyze complex clinical problems and create practical solutions to provide best clinical care.
13. Leadership skills.
14. Ability to undertake audit and change practice in accordance to findings.
15. Computer Literacy.
16. Good organisational skills, able to work effectively as an autonomous practitioner, set priorities and meet deadlines in spite of repeated interruptions.
17. Experience of inserting NG tubes.
18. Experience managing NG and PEG tubes.
19. Developed physical skills to ensure accuracy and dexterity required for clinical procedures e.g. nasogastric tubes, bridles and gastrostomies.
Desirable criteria
20. Ability to recommend and manage feeding systems as required on a daily basis.