Clinical Nurse Specialist (Non-Prescriber)
Job Description
Job summary
The Clinical Nurse Specialist (Non-Prescriber) is a key role within the Nursing team, acting as the clinical specialist lead and overseeing the community nursing service for a defined area on a rotation basis.
Working with an integrated team of nurses, you will contribute to the overall care of patient and families referred to St Giles Hospice within the community setting. This role will report directly into the Clinical Lead for Community Services.
As a team member, you will contribute to a positive supportive working environment with an emphasis on teamwork and cooperation. You will participate in a rota system providing a 7 day a week, face to face and telephone service for patients and their families and, in the out of hours rota, providing telephone advice and support. This may include visiting out of hours in exceptional circumstances.
It is anticipated that the work plan will be 80% clinical (clinical management) 10% Service Development and 10% Education and Teaching.
Main duties of the job
The role includes activities such as audit, quality and risk management initiatives and Nurses working at this level will:
Practice with support from Clinical Nurse Specialist Prescribers, Advanced Clinical Practitioners and the multi-disciplinary team.
Appropriately analyse complex situations.
Actively seek and participate in peer reviews of their own practice.
Appropriately define the boundaries of their practice and understand the parameters of their professional role.
Promote and participate in the implementation of the local and national strategies and St Giles Hospice core standards.
About us
St Giles Hospice is a registered charity founded in 1983 by the Reverend Paul Brothwell, originally to improve the care of local people dyingwith cancer. We now support people in our community whose illnesses may not be curable such as cancer, motor neurone disease, heart failure, MS and respiratory disease. We also offer support for families and helpers.
Our dedicated team provides individually-tailored care either at the hospice or in patients own homes across our communities.
The range of specialist services is provided free of charge to those who need it. Although St Giles receives some funding from the Government, we rely heavily on donations and fundraising.
Job responsibilities
The role entails but is not limited to:
Leadership and Managerial
Be an effective role model to the team, all St Giles Hospice staff and other primary healthcare colleagues.
Act as a role model with honesty and integrity.
Provide advice and support for patients and families.
Participate in multi-professional meetings, acting as a patient advocate and contribute to the decision making regarding service delivery.
Attend appropriate patient related and team meetings.
Participate in service development initiatives as required
Maintain and continually develop own learning and development needs
Maintain high professional standard in accordance with Hospice policies and procedures and the NMC Code of Professional Conduct.
Clinical
Be responsible for the continued coordination of the content and delivery of your allocated patient's care plan and ensure that the patient is getting the right service from St Giles Hospice.
Undertake patient clinical assessments.
In liaison with other Clinical Nurse Specialists and other members of the community team, ensure the overall quality and provision of nursing care of patients and families referred to St Giles Hospice in the community setting and that their needs are met.
Promote the principles and practice of palliative care as an extension of the Hospice into the community.
Work across a range of settings, including community visits e.g. home/care home/IPU/community hospitals, telephone conversations and reviewing patients in outpatient settings.
To assess the holistic needs of patients and their carers and identify their respective physical, psychological, social, cultural and spiritual needs.
To work within a team framework, collaborating with colleagues and members of other disciplines.
Work across all St Giles Hospice clinical areas.
To use a proactive, sensitive and empathetic approach with patients and relatives to enable involvement in advance care/treatment planning.
To undertake ReSPECT discussions and decisions where appropriate with patients and families.
To assess peoples information needs and provide relevant information to meet those needs.
To offer bereavement support to carers in collaboration with the Supportive Care Team or refer them onto the appropriate service.
To provide appropriate nursing interventions.
To work alongside and liaise with DNs, GPs and other external Health and social care providers to ensure patients and families receive appropriate care and support.
To participate in the out of hours rota to provide telephone advice and exceptional visits if indicated.
To contribute to patient management by attending Gold Standard Framework, hospital and other practice based meetings.
To liaise and communicate with community, nursing home and hospital staff in order to raise awareness and promote understanding of Hospice services.
Ensure that all relevant information is documented and recorded on the appropriate systems.
Foster positive working relations with the Primary Healthcare Team and with other health care professionals in the delivery of community based palliative care.
Allocated Lead Responsibilities
For those working in the community, these roles will also take lead responsibility for a defined area on a rotational basis working on:
Audit and research programmes.
Input into Clinical Governance framework.
Service Development
Provide input to service development initiatives.
Ensure systems are in place to ensure continuous improvement, quality assurance and effective Clinical Governance and participate in the development of policies, protocols and clinical guidelines to support specialist palliative care nursing.
Promote and engage staff in new ways of working - such as the use of technology and working off site.
Promote a questioning and open culture.
Keep abreast of current advances in nursing practice and research.
Work across professional boundaries using creative reasoning and problem solving.
Education and Training
To take responsibility for attending mandatory Hospice training and in-house courses in line with organisational policy and current legislation.
To actively participate in and contribute to the ongoing educational programme of the Hospice.
To attend and actively participate in the identified CPD opportunities provided.
To proactively maintain appropriate level of clinical competence as identified within the St Giles Hospice Competencies.
To assist in orientation programmes for new members of staff.
To take personal responsibility for life-long learning, self-development and reflection.
To participate in informal and formal education.
Just so you know:
We may review applications before the application review date, however, if you apply after the application review date, your application may not be considered. We will accept applications until we have successfully filled the role, this may be earlier than the closing date.
If you have not heard within 14 days of the application close date, then please consider that your application has been unsuccessful at this time.
As part of your application your data will be managed in line with St Giles Hospice Privacy Policy and kept for 6 months. If you would like to see this in full, please visit https://www.stgileshospice.com/privacy-policy/
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Registered Nurse (Degree/Masters level)
- Current NMC Registration
- Advanced Communication skills qualification
- Willing to undertake additional study as required
Desirable
- Community Nursing qualification
- Leadership course
- Degree in specialist practice related to specialist palliative care
Experience
Essential
- Proven experience within specialist palliative care
- Community nursing experience
- Experience and evidence of clinical audit
- Experience and competence in managing complex palliative care cases - symptoms, psychological, grief/loss needs, ethical dilemmas and patient advocacy
- Fully comprehends contemporary CNS role
- Development, implementation and appraisal of quality and audit initiatives
- Knowledge of corporate and clinical governance
- Fully comprehends and implements research and evidence based practice process
- Diverse specialist palliative care knowledge and awareness - national and local agenda
