KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS Communication and Relationship Skills Supports patients and their significant others, communicates clinical information using a variety of methods Ensures information is conveyed to the patient in a timely, understandable manner Demonstrates empathy and compassion toward patients and others Develops effective relationships with patients to assist them in making decisions about their care Ensures effective communication between the multidisciplinary team, taking personal responsibility to update and share information Initial handling complaints and staff issues in the absence of Junior Sister Provides accurate procedural information, offering patient health promotion Supports patients during intimate procedures, whilst receiving sensitive news and reassures anxious patients and their significant others Knowledge, Training and Experience Utilises professional knowledge to assess, plan, evaluate and implement patient care Maintains up to date knowledge in their field of practice, ensure professional requirements maintained Utilises opportunity for continuing development provide up to date patient care Comprehensive understanding of breast anatomy and physiology, breast conditions, treatments and the equipment involved. Conveys this understanding to other members of staff daily Provides phone and email advice and guidance triage support, organises the appropriate care for patients contacting department both in person and via the phone/email with breast concerns/issues Works autonomously within recognised limits during nurse led pre-operative assessment clinic and nurse led dressing clinic Assists clinicians with minor procedures diagnostic and therapeutic Responsible for own developmental learning, performance and record of these Analytical Skills Monitors patients health and well-being, informing appropriate personnel of any changes to their condition Initiates emergency treatment plans for unanticipated situations such as the deteriorating patient, anaphylaxis, hypoglycaemia, cardiac arrest, fire and security incidents Resolves problems associated with the day to day running of the department Uses medical equipment, to monitor and record baseline observations Follows written and verbal instruction to ensure effective running of the clinic and to deliver treatment plans Planning and Organisational Skills Organises and supervises the workload of other staff Delegated workload against the needs of patients and service requirements Ensures the efficient running of breast clinics and effective safe patient flow through the clinical environment Assists the Junior Sister in the implementation of corporate and nursing objectives Physical Skills Delivers core clinical skills which include a range of nursing duties to ensure the patients well-being, comfort and safety are always maintained, these will include but not exhaustive of: 1. Administration of medication 2. Assisting with minor procedures 3. Assisting patients with hygiene needs, eating, drinking and mobility where required 4. Perform venepucture Wound management Performs core skills unsupervised, seeking support and guidance from senior nurses as needed RESPONSIBILITIES Responsibility for Patient/Client Care Assess, plan, implement and evaluate the clinical pathway - responsible for ensuring the patients treatment plan is followed Enables patients to meet daily living activities where necessary Orders and obtains samples screening, acts appropriately on results outside of acceptable ranges Identify and improve standards of care, patient safety as required Ensure activity is patient centred Responsibilities for policy and service development Adheres to the NMC professional code of conduct Uses their knowledge to contribute to service development and other initiatives Responsible for the preparation and setting up of the clinical environment including routine safety equipment checks Maintains the integrity and cleanliness of equipment ensuring correct use and storage Reports equipment faults, removing from the clinical area until repaired Alerts other team members of quality issues and risk in the care Responsibility for financial and physical resources Ensures supplies are available to deliver patient care, reports discrepancies Uses specialist equipment to assist in patients care needs, following a period training Responsible for the cleaning of clinical equipment Uses resources appropriately and effectively Responsibility for staff/HR/Leadership/Training Allocates and supervises the work of junior staff during their span of duty Participates in the supervision, mentorship of students and preceptorship of new staff Works as a team to deliver optimum patient care Acts in a professional manner always, demonstrates a mutual respect for colleagues Responsibilities for information resources Responsible for providing accurate and timely records on patient care and performance using paper and IT based systems, in accordance with Trust policy Responsibilities for Research and Development Participates in audits and research to assess the effectiveness of care interventions Contributes to benchmarking, disseminates best practice Ensuring practice is up to date, utilising evidence from national policy and research Freedom to Act Works autonomously in accordance with NMC code of conduct, asks for assistance when required Use own judgement to define day to day work priorities and initiates plans affecting patient care EFFORT AND ENVIRONMENT Physical Effort The working environment is busy, and with completing demands. The post holder will have to assist a number of people at one time and will be interrupted frequently to meet the patients needs and requests of staff. Requires excellent organisational, time and stress management skills to complete the required tasks Mental Effort Adaptable to the changing clinical priorities, which will include responding to emergency procedures Work patterns requires staff to respond to frequent changes and unpredictable situations Responsible for producing accurate patient records To work autonomously within the confines of the role to deliver safe patient care The post holder will be required to reflect on practice throughout the clinical session to make appropriate decisions about the clinical episode Emotional Effort Assist patients through a range of treatments and experiences, some of which may be highly sensitive, distressing and emotional There may be challenging behaviour to deal with Working Conditions Close patient contact Handling of bodily fluids Wear PPE Conform to health and safety guidelines - handling histological samples Deal with unpleasant situations: histology samples, secretions and odours Support colleagues in managing patients who can exhibit highly distressed and aggressive behaviours