Cardiac Rehabilitation Exercise Physiologist – Band 5
37.5 HOURS PER WEEK [Permanent]
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a band 5 Exercise Physiologist to join our Cardiac Rehabilitation Team.
We offer a comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation programme both in hospital and in local leisure centres throughout the county. You would be joining a friendly, flexible team of nurses and exercise physiologists, caring for people who have had recent cardiac events.
We are looking for a dynamic, caring, and compassionate Exercise Physiologist with excellent communication skills, and demonstrable evidence of professional development. You will work closely with the Cardiac Nurses and Exercise Physiologist to support the exercise component of our Cardiac Rehabilitation Service. The post has a strong patient and health promotion focus to support patients and their families through a pathway of care from presentation (e.g. diagnosis or cardiac event), identification for eligibility, referral, and assessment through to long-term management.
The working base will be at the John Radcliffe but will involve travel across the county as required to meet the needs of the service.
The use of a car is essential to this role.
JOB SUMMARY
Assist with the development, design and evaluation of individual patient exercise programmes in hospital and community and online settings, providing support and monitoring of exercise prescription. Provide telephone and email advice to individuals at home, in collaboration with the cardiac rehabilitation and multi-disciplinary teams.
Together with other exercise physiologists in the team, work with the clinical team to assist in the provision of locality based exercise programmes. The post holder will be expected to assist in ensuring all equipment is taken to leisure centres, stored, cleaned and operated safely according to Trust /Local policy.
Provide educational support for addressing risk factors and lifestyle changes to cardiac patients on physical activity, diet, diabetes management and smoking cessation on both an individual basis and group sessions.
To demonstrate partnership working skills internally and externally across organisational boundaries and the wider multi-disciplinary team.
Support the other exercise physiologists by participating in communication and support networks with local leisure authorities and community exercise providers to maintain and enable appropriate new phase IV exercise groups to be established and developed.
Liaise with the patient/family/carer, multi-disciplinary teams including cardiac rehabilitation nurses, exercise professionals throughout the county, GPs, consultants and other Oxfordshire healthcare services.
Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of the largest NHS teaching trusts in the country. It provides a wide range of general and specialist clinical services and is a base for medical education, training and research. Find out more here
The Trust comprises of four hospitals - the John Radcliffe Hospital, Churchill Hospital and Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre in Headington and the Horton General Hospital in Banbury.
Our values, standards and behaviours define the quality of clinical care we offer and the professional relationships we make with our patients, colleagues and the wider community. We call this Delivering Compassionate Excellence and its focus is on our values of compassion, respect, learning, delivery, improvement and excellence. These values put patients at the heart of what we do and underpin the quality healthcare we would like for ourselves or a member of our family. Watch how we set out to deliver compassionate excellence via the OUH YouTube channel.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Clinical
• Liaise with the cardiac rehabilitation team to ensure information supplied to in-patients about activity and exercise post-discharge is appropriate and evidence-based.
• In conjunction with the Exercise Physiologists and Cardiac Rehabilitation nurses, assess the level of risk for individual patients during their cardiac rehabilitation assessment appointment, including baseline assessment of fitness/functional capacity and risk stratification, taking into account other co-morbidities.
• Seek expert advice from the cardiac rehabilitation team and multi-disciplinary teams when further information/investigations are required, in order to do risk stratification safely.
• Take responsibility for accurate documentation on EPR which allow for communication of key points for all staff.
• Ensure all patients receive appropriate prescription of individualised exercise for phase lll utilising guidelines from national and internationally recognised exercise professional bodies - e.g. British Association for Cardiovascular Prevention & Rehabilitation, Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Cardiac Rehabilitation, American College of Sports Medicine.
• Process and apply excellent communication and negotiation skills as the understanding, agreement and co-operation of patients to follow their exercise programme are essential.
• Undertake clinical observations such as blood pressure, heart rate and Rate of Perceived Exertion and analyse this with support from the cardiac rehabilitation team.
• Undertake Immediate Life Support (ILS) training.
• Liaise with the multidisciplinary team in the primary, tertiary and secondary health care settings to assist with the provision of optimum management of patients with on-going or complex cardiac disease.
• Refer patients who have successfully participated in supervised Phase lll exercise to Phase lV specialist instructors in the community.
• Work with the Band 6 exercise physiologists to provide a home based exercise programme for those patients who do not wish to attend the gym based sessions. This includes using creativity, initiative and appropriate exercise means which are appropriate and patient centred.
Educational:
• In collaboration with the cardiac rehabilitation team provide education sessions to patients and their family/carer, promoting physical activity using a variety of media presentation methods including Powerpoint/ MSTeams.
• In collaboration with the cardiac rehabilitation team review relevant literature to ensure that local guidelines, policies and practices for exercise in cardiac rehabilitation are developed on the basis of current evidence.
• Attend relevant training to continue professional development towards increasing knowledge of exercise prescription for cardiac conditions.
Data and Administrative:
• To maintain data entry requirements for the NACR and assist with preparation of for the Cardiac Rehabilitation Manager regarding exercise attendance and other health outcomes.
• Liaise with local leisure centre staff assisting at the phase lll cardiac rehabilitation exercise sessions.
• Liaise with the cardiac rehabilitation team to ensure that all relevant equipment and documentation is available at the Leisure centres, so that emergencies can be dealt with effectively and patient details can be readily accessed.
• Ability to adapt to a range of work environments including unplanned sickness, lone working, emergency situations and manual handling. This will also include ensuring that periods of planned absence are covered by colleagues, to allow for the smooth running of the programme.
• Liaise with colleagues to ensure patients are aware how to operate gym equipment safely. During the exercise sessions, monitor the level of supervision required by individual patients and seek guidance as necessary.
• Ensure accurate patient records are maintained, ensuring compliance with Trust GDPR policies.
• Work with the team to improve service delivery to cardiac rehabilitation patients.
Professional
• Maintain own personal and professional development.
• Act as a professional representative of the Cardiac Rehabilitation Department at local and national level.
• Uphold and maintain Trust policies and statutory regulations related to health and safety.
• Act as a role model and lead by example.
This advert closes on Sunday 26 Jan 2025
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