A Vacancy at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust.
This position is for a senior healthcare scientist specialising in the training of echocardiography. The role will develop, implement, deliver and monitor a training strategy in echocardiography including, but not limited to, trainees undertaking the Scientist Training Programme (STP), Echocardiography Training Programme (ETP) and medical trainees (Resident Doctors). This role within the South London Sector. willdeliver a new landscape that innovates an ambitious plan to increase the quality and quantity of echocardiography training.
The successful candidate will provide echo training in a range of sitesacross the South London Network with responsibility for healthcare Scientists undertaking STP / ETP as well as other healthcare professionals. The position would suit an echocardiographer with extensive experience of training in transthoracic echocardiography. The successful candidate must hold British Society of Echocardiography (BSE) adult accreditation (or an equivalent qualification in echocardiography) and possess broad specialist skills in echocardiography. A postgraduate qualification in education and / or certification as a BSE assessor would be an advantage.
This role would be supported by the echocardiography team at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Trust who were early adopter of the Department of Health’s Modernising Scientific Careers (MSC) programme with over 12 years of experience of training at this level. It is a supportive department with high standards. There are good opportunities for continuing professional development clinically and involvement in research.
Although the role is hosted at Guy's & St. Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust the remit of the job is across the South London Network and will require travel to both hospital and community locations.
Key Roles
Professional
The post holder will be required to keep their professional, specialist scientific and clinical knowledge and skills up to date and to engage in and promote evidence-based practice within their field. They will be fully aware of, and work within, their professional scope of practice and within the standards of conduct, performance and ethics for their professional and regulatory bodies. The post holder will lead audit and practice reviews within their area of expertise. They will be expected to act as a role model and mentor to trainees and to junior colleagues.
Scientific
The post holder will be responsible for the evaluation and introduction of specialist scientific and technical knowledge and equipment within the echocardiography and training service across South London. They will provide scientific expertise to other health professionals including its analysis and interpretation within the clinical decision-making process. They will provide complex scientific information in an accessible manner to non-experts. They will be responsible for the monitoring and assurance of the scientific quality of their area and will develop and implement processes to demonstrate and maintain its quality. The post holder will require IT knowledge and skills commensurate with their role as a healthcare scientist specialist within their field.
Clinical
Their clinical knowledge and skills must be sufficiently advanced to underpin their role as a healthcare scientist specialist and should be equivalent to master’s level plus further specialist training. The post holder will perform echocardiography at specialist scientist (expert) level while complying with local and national standards. The scientist will be able to request other diagnostic tests including other imaging modalities and pathology services.
They will be able to report their findings in an appropriate manner to patients, carers and health professionals. They will participate in discussions about ongoing monitoring, the use of other diagnostic tests and referrals. They will represent their specialist area at MDT meetings to give advice about findings and their interpretation to facilitate the best possible patient outcomes.
The post holder will possess the highly developed motor skills required in the physical acquisition of obtaining images directly from patients. They will be highly skilled at manoeuvring patients to ensure optimisation of images acquired while ensuring patient safety is foremost in the process. They will require a high degree of hand-eye co-ordination utilising and optimising the most appropriate imaging equipment. They will possess the intense concentration required to both perform and report on specialist images acquired in a time sensitive manner within a variety of pressurised clinical environments.
The post holder will need to be able to deliver complex information, which may be of a distressing nature, to patients and their families and to offer advice within their specialist scope of practice.
The post holder will require an understanding of biohazards and hazardous agents that are staff/patients/carers are exposed within cardiac science including contact with bodily fluids and radiation.
eadership
The post holder will be scientifically responsible for training in echocardiography including when its provision is delegated to other healthcare professions. They will be responsible for the audit, review and measures required to ensure that the high-quality training is maintained. They will be the point of contact for other health professionals requiring advice or information about the echocardiography training or its management. As a specialist scientist the post holder will be a key role model in cardiac physiology both locally in South London and nationally.
The post holder will develop a strategy for the delivery of echocardiography training across South London. This will require excellent communication and change management skills to deliver a new landscape that innovates an ambitious plan to increase the quality and quantity of echocardiography training.
Education & Professional Development
To participate in the development of training pathways for healthcare science and other healthcare professionals ensuring that all staff are trained to a high and consistent standard in accordance with individual staff and network objectives.
To act as the principal work-based echocardiography assessor; providing professional advice to other work based assessors and promoting quality control and standardisation of the assessment process across cardiac sub-specialities
Ensure the echo community is conversant with any changes in educational requirements for professional registration and plan accordingly.
To resource continuing educational opportunities for all sonographers; evaluating appropriateness of courses.
To be responsible for ensuring that an accurate record of progress against targets in the training pathways is maintained and available.
To work with the directorate management team to interpret and implement any policy documents as released that impact in training in echocardiography.
The post holder will ensure to continue professional development and will be responsible for keeping own skills up to date, including Immediate Life Support and any accreditations; and acquire new skills to support development of the wider service. To personally undergo such training as is deemed necessary to maintain efficient discharge of duties.
This advert closes on Friday 21 Feb 2025