Job summary
This position is offered as a development / preceptorship role. Depending on your experience, we will accept Band 7 candidates to develop into the 8a position. Alternatively, if you meet the 8a criteria, we will support appointment to the 8a position.
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Practitioner Psychologist to join our growing service. This is a critically important time to work in this area, helping to support our diverse workforce cope with the ongoing challenges of work in acute hospital settings and enabling them to bring their whole and authentic selves to work each day. As a service, we understand that no staff member or team is the same, needs are diverse, but there are common stresses including the challenge of pursuing excellence in care, as well as protecting the welfare of staff accepting the burden of moral stress and injury in making difficult decisions.
Our service is designed to support NHS staff in all areas of the Acute Trust experiencing emotional and psychological difficulties in order to alleviate their distress and foster their capacity to thrive and be fulfilled at work. This is part of the Trust's aspiration to build a sustainable culture of positive health and wellbeing including preventative interventions.
Main duties of the job
This is a varied post which provides a perfect opportunity for a psychologist with an interest in systems, organisational processes or occupational psychology. The service provides a range of staff support interventions. Individual support is offered to staff where their psychological wellbeing is impacting their ability to bring their best self to work including anxiety, stress, trauma and chronic / long term conditions realised via individual, team and organisation-based assessments and interventions. Examples of Team and Manager support include helping teams to identify with their values, addressing low team morale and how to manage the emotional impact of their work.
You will join a committed and cohesive team co-led by two highly experienced Principal Psychologists, including an Applied Psychologist and an Administrator. We are passionate about offering psychological support to people in a variety of physical health areas and supporting our staff to be the best they can in delivering this care. The post will have active links with, and support from this wider Physical Health Psychology Service with opportunities for development.
Prior experience of working in staff psychological wellbeing is not essential, the most important qualities are good communication skills, working co-operatively and thinking creatively. We are very happy to consider job share, flexible working arrangements and support hybrid working arrangements. Full time or part time hours will be considered.
About us
Our purpose is simple - Putting Patients First. We are looking for exceptional colleagues who can help us achieve this.
Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust is a large acute and specialised hospital trust that provides a range of local acute services to the residents of Worcestershire and more specialised services to a larger population in Herefordshire and beyond.
The Trust operates hospital-based services from three sites in Kidderminster, Redditch and Worcester.
Our workforce is over 7,000 strong, and our caring staff are recognised as providing good and outstanding patient-centred care. You could be one of them.
We are committed to recruiting the best people to work with us to achieve our Vision - working in partnership to provide the best healthcare for our communities, leading and supporting our teams to move 4ward. Our 4ward behaviours, which we ask all staff to demonstrate, underpin our everyday work and remain firmly at the heart of all we do.
Job responsibilities
Our Staff Psychological Wellbeing Service offers direct input to individuals and teams; a responsive service following traumatic incidents; is part of the Health and Wellbeing Steering Group and sits on Directorate Board Meetings to aid the organisations thinking around psychological wellbeing of staff.
Key Duties and Responsibilities
To manage and hold clinical responsibility for a caseload and provide highly specialist assessment and interventions focusing on reducing and preventing undue work-related psychological distress for individuals and staff teams across the Trust.
To provide highly specialist advice, consultation and training as appropriate to support the overall objectives of the staff support service. To contribute to service evaluation, audit, research and policy development.
To support the wider health and wellbeing agenda of the Trust.
The post holder will:
Clinical
1. Work as an independent and autonomous professional within BPS and HCPC guidelines and the policies and procedures of the service, taking full responsibility for own work including treatment and discharge decisions.
2. Carry a defined clinical caseload of staff who have a varying range of severity and complexity of psychological issues.
3. Undertake the assessment, formulation, treatment and management of staff members as required within the Service with a varying range of severity and complexity of psychological problems. In particular, staff who are experiencing undue work-related stress and those experiencing moral distress / injury or trauma.
4. Use initiative and take responsibility for themselves and the quality of their work and the service they provide to patients and the Service.
5. Collaboratively evaluate the appropriateness of referrals from a number of sources; referrals to be accepted as resources permit.
6. Carry a caseload of appropriate size, complexity and severity, including staff whose difficulties may be presented in a challenging or distressed manner.
7. Provide specialised psychological therapies which require specialist post-qualification experience, supervision and training to acquire the necessary clinical and therapeutic skills and personal resources.
8. Provide psychological therapy, where appropriate, making use of a variety of psychological models, as appropriate, with staff, groups and teams.
9. Provide specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals at leadership level contributing directly to team level interventions or a person's treatment and care.
10. Collaborate on broader casework and initiatives consistent with Trust Health and Wellbeing approach to enhance the capacity of other professionals to carry out their responsibilities.
11. Promote excellent psychologically-informed practice and a service consistent and compliant with the philosophy of person-centred and evidence-based practice.
12. Undertake risk assessments and risk management of individuals presenting with risk of vulnerability or self-harm.
13. Select and provide specialised psychological assessments, including developmental, cognitive and psychometric assessments, which require training and expertise to acquire the necessary dexterity, accuracy and observational skills. Interpret complex psychological data from a variety of sources, including neuropsychological tests, psychometric tests, and self-report measures, rating scales, structured observations and semi-structured interviews.
14. Adhere to appropriate confidentiality guidance from the Trust, the HCPC and the BPS with respect to considering issues of risk, supervision and safeguarding.
Communication and Liaison
1. Communicate highly confidential and sensitive personal information, obtained through assessment, formulation, therapy and interventions, to the staff directly and where appropriate other professionals and others involved in their care. The information may be highly distressing and communications are to be in a skilled and sensitive manner, making judgements involving highly complex facts or situations concerning what information is to be shared, how and when to convey it in the best interests of the staff member and having regard to issues of safeguarding, mental capacity and potential sensory and cultural barriers to communication.
2. To formulate and communicate sensitively psychological assessment findings and implement psychological treatment plans including individual, joint or group interventions as appropriate.
3. Provide specialist advice and consultancy in support of the wider trust Health and Wellbeing approach.
4. Act as an expert professional resource in regard to staff support and the wider trust Health and wellbeing approach.
5. Present and participate in relevant Service meetings and appropriate professional groups and meetings, as agreed with the Lead Psychologist.
6. Contribute to the effective working of the staff support psychology service in order to deliver comprehensive and high quality care.
7. Maintain excellent working relationships with colleagues and local services and agencies.
Analysis and Judgment
1. Provide formulations of the individuals' difficulties based upon analyses of complex information gained from multiple sources including assessment findings, psychological theory and a range of available psychological and other clinical information.
2. Exercise autonomous clinical responsibility for the development and implementation of psychological treatments, strategies, and interventions, adjusting and reformulating as appropriate on the basis of feedback.
3. Be able to make independent and autonomous clinical judgments on the way in which expected clinical outcomes are to be met using a variety of sources, including policy, professional guidelines, peers and colleagues within and outside the Service.
4. Provide a problem-solving, trouble-shooting role in response to issues for which there is no documented or acceptable practice, drawing creatively upon psychological models, theories and approaches and research skills.
Planning and Organisation
1. Plan own work.
2. Coordinate the use of tests, books and other equipment used by the post holder, psychology assistants, trainees and more junior psychologists, in collaboration with colleagues.
Administrative
1. Be responsible for designing, developing and using appropriate clinical and administrative records in line with Trust policies and other professional guidelines, verifying the functionality of some, and auditing correct usage.
2. Coordinate and chair meetings, prepare agendas, check and ensure distribution of accurate minutes.
Managerial
1. Develop the ability to lead in relation to the development and organisation of psychological interventions within the Staff Support service under the guidance and supervision of more senior psychology colleagues.
2. Manage the workload of trainee and assistant psychologists as required and contribute to their appraisal under the supervision of a more senior applied psychologist.
Research and Development
1. Be responsible for supervising research within the Service in conjunction with the Lead Psychologist.
2. Supervise Clinical Psychology trainees with their doctoral research projects, drawing from formal research methods, both qualitative and quantitative. Ensure ethics approval and liaise with their research tutor and with staff or patients who may be potential participants.
3. Keep up to date with research developments in psychology, which are relevant to the psychological interventions, and follow a reflective scientist-practitioner approach appropriate to the Clinical Psychologists role.
4. Be responsible for the regular audit, monitoring and evaluation of services provided by the Service and investigate ways of improving the quality of the service offered.
5. Participate in clinical governance and service audit and follow evidence-based practice.
6. Undertake and facilitate clinically relevant research and write up for publication and/or present and disseminate as agreed with the Lead Psychologist, as appropriate.
For full JD please see attached file.
This is not an exhaustive list of duties and responsibilities, and the post-holder may be required to undertake other duties which fall within the grade of the job, in discussion with the line manager.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
* BSc/BA Honours degree at 2:1 or above in psychology
* Post graduate Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996) as accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS)
* Post qualification training in specific, evidence-based techniques for use with clients with complex psychological presentations and/or physical health difficulties, across the age span
* Evidence of regular further professional training and experience as required by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and the BPS
* Eligible for registration as a Chartered Psychologist (Clinical, Counselling or Health) by the BPS
* Eligible for registration as a Practitioner member of the BPS
* Registered with HCPC as a Clinical/Counselling/Health Psychologist
Desirable
* Qualification in EMDR
* Training study days or conferences relating to the support needs of staff
Experience
Essential
* Sufficient training and experience to be recognised as a suitably qualified psychologist to offer placements to trainee Applied Psychologists
* Training and experience in the application of psychological knowledge across a range of presentations including mental health problems, traumatic stress, chronic fatigue and other physical health problems
* Experience of assessing and providing a wide range of psychological interventions to patients presenting with the full degree of clinical severity and across a range of clinical mental health presentations
* Experience of the application of psychology in different cultural contexts
* Experience of conducting clinically relevant research
* Experience of working with highly emotive and distressing problems
* Experience of multi-agency/ multidisciplinary working
* Therapeutic expertise in working jointly and with groups
* Experience of consultation to non-psychology staff
* Experience of designing and delivering teaching and training
Desirable
* 2 years of experience working as a qualified Clinical Psychologist within a relevant area
* Experience of working in staff support role and have an understanding of specific issues that might arise in acute hospital settings.
* Experience of strategic planning and service development
* Experience of teaching and training psychologists in a Clinical Psychology doctorate training course
Knowledge and Skills
Essential
* Knowledge required specific to the role and clinical area
* Advanced theoretical and applied knowledge of psychological approaches for people with psychological problems including specialised psychological assessments and interventions for patients with complex psychological presentations, as well as physical health difficulties
* Ability to work independently as an autonomous practitioner with appropriate level of clinical and managerial supervision and maintain awareness of own limitations
* Well-developed psychometric assessment skills
* Doctoral level knowledge of research design and methodology, including complex multivariate data analysis, as practiced within the field of Clinical Psychology
* Ability to use IT equipment and programmes, including the use of internet to carry out literature searches for research purposes, databases and patient information systems
* Highly developed and effective communication skills, both oral and written, including ability to communicate complex, highly personal and sensitive information
* Advanced ability to develop and maintain a therapeutic relationship and manage transference appropriately
* Able to communicate effectively within the team and build good sound working relationships
* Good presentation and teaching skills, able to use multi-media materials for both formal large group situations and small informal settings
* Ability to challenge poor behaviour
* Able to prioritise own work and deal with competing demands to work effectively
* Role modelling good behaviour
Desirable
* Able to manage change through influence, persuasion and good interpersonal relationships
* Able to think strategically; to consider the wider picture for developing specialist services long term and planning developments
* Previous publications in either peer reviewed academic or professional journal and/or books
* Knowledge of organisational / occupational psychology
Personal Qualities
Essential
* Committed to promote patients' right, independence and choice e.g., through informed consent for interventions
* A positive attitude and able to act on feedback
* Ability to praise and be supportive to others
* Able to meet the travel requirements of the post
* A commitment to continued professional development, to partnership working and to reflective clinical practice
* Enthusiastic, proactive and interested in service development and team working
* Ability to work autonomously within remit and levels of competence
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