Principal Duties & Areas of Responsibility To be state registered. Demonstrates the ability to prioritise and organise the clinical caseload within a designated area of respiratory. To be able to exercise initiative as an autonomous practitioner in all areas of the respiratory department. The individual uses his her discretion to re-adjust plans as the clinical situation need of the patient changes. Access to advice from Highly Specialist Respiratory Physiologist is available if required but clinical work is not routinely evaluated/supervised. The individual also seeks advice from external sources if required (e.g. technical specialists from industry). Communicates with all members of the multidisciplinary team to ensure the best possible care for the patient. Communication skills including: I. Negotiating, e.g. with physicians who demand investigations not achievable within the service limitations. II. Reassurance, e.g. to patients who are anxious about their clinical findings. III. Persuasiveness, e.g. to young children who are scared to undergo clinical procedures. Immediate Life Support training essential during procedures performed on acutely ill patients and those at very high risk of sudden cardiac death. Expected to undertake formal post-graduate training by means of periodic in-house assessments. Non clinical skills to include computer literacy. To communicate information about specialist respiratory investigations to patients and relatives carers including children and those with learning and or physical disabilities. Performs, analyses and interprets a wide range of highly specialist and complex respiratory investigations in order to generate factual reports which are used to influence patient management. These sources are then in turn used to aid audit and compilation of statistical information. To be professionally and legally accountable for all aspect of own work, including the management of patients in your care. Provides clinical technical advice to patients and other members of the multi-disciplinary team including respiratory and non-respiratory physicians and other health care professionals. Carries out all aspects of clinical work as approved by their Line Manager. Works as an autonomous practitioner within established departmental policies and those recognised by international organisations (e.g. European Respiratory Society (ERS), British Thoracic Society (BTS - UK) Performs/facilitates a number of the following investigations on a range of respiratory and medical patients including acutely ill, paediatric and elderly patients and those with a range of physical and learning disabilities: - Spirometry - Flow Volume Loops - Lung Volumes - Airways Resistance - Transfer Factor - Reversibility Studies - 6 Minute Walks - Incremental Shuttle Walk Tests - Mouth Pressure Tests - Sniff Inspiratory Nasal Pressures - Sitting and Supine Vital Capacity - Capillary Blood Gas - Hypoxic Challenge Test - Mannitol Challenge Tests - Cardio-Pulmonary Exercise Tests - Overnight Oximetry - Respiratory Variable Sleep Studies - Full Polysomnography - Osler Studies - Actigraphy Studies Requires a high level of manual dexterity and good hand to eye co-ordination in order to ensure the accurate application of a range of diagnostic tools, detailed evaluation of sleep studies. High level of sensory co-ordination in order to immediately analyse and respond to complex life-threatening physiological signs. Following interpretation the Physiologist uses judgmental skills in order to make instantaneous decisions about further patient care.