Staff Nurse

Job responsibilities

The role entails but is not limited to: -

Clinical Practice

Demonstrate the necessary skills to establish and maintain effective communication for patients, relatives and members of the multi-disciplinary team.

Communicating with patients and relatives, providing active listening, counsel, providing information and teaching about the dying process. Using proficient interpersonal and communication skills in a frequently highly challenging and emotive atmosphere.

Communicate with other healthcare/allied healthcare professionals within the acute and Primary Care Teams, key workers, social services, nursing and residential homes to enhance the flow of communication and facilitate admission and discharge.

Establish strong effective working relationships with all members of the multi-disciplinary team.

Ensure that patients are referred to other members of the team such as dietician, occupational therapist, family support and physiotherapist as required.

Ensure that patients are referred to other hospice services as required.

Maintain a good working relationship with the patient and their relatives ensuring that they receive a personalised and sensitive, professional service at all times.

Ensure that support is given to carers and families providing information and explanation on external resources available and referring them to the necessary organisations where appropriate.

Establish excellent professional relationships with primary care colleagues providing information to these professionals, particularly the key worker, enabling them to care well for these patients when in the community.

Manage patient admission and discharge, assessing and advising patients and relatives in crisis situations where significant barriers to acceptance of help will need to be handled using the highest level of interpersonal and communication skills. Presenting complex, sensitive or contentious information for patients, clients and staff.

Provide emotional/spiritual support to patient and families throughout the disease and dying trajectory, providing and receiving highly complex, sensitive or contentious information.

Provide out of hours telephone support and advice for patients, relatives and external healthcare professionals regarding symptom control and psychological care and advice when required.

Clinical and Professional Responsibilities

To provide total physical, emotional and spiritual care and support to patients, relatives and carers throughout their admission.

To be competent in the use of syringe pumps and infusions.

To be competent in the use of IT skills (clinical software, electronic patient records i.e. SystmOne, Microsoft suite of tools, intra and internet).

To attend and present at case conferences and multi-disciplinary team meetings to ensure effective communication with all members of the hospice inter-disciplinary and primary care teams, acting as the patients advocate.

To assess needs and develop, implement and evaluate special palliative nursing care, in consultation with other members of the multi-disciplinary team, to ensure effective high-quality specialist palliative nursing care for patients, identifying and helping to meet their physical, psycho-social, emotional and spiritual needs.

To ensure that supportive nursing care and therapies, which may be completed by healthcare assistants, are given safely and that supervising and monitoring of these patients is maintained.

To provide a nurse-led holistic assessment for patients giving them in-depth information regarding the treatment and care involved, covering contra-indications and ensuring the focus is the patients perception of their quality of life.

Undertake safe and effective discharge planning, using the discharge pathway, including information on how to remain safe when discharged into the community and how to contact the emergency out of hours service if they become unwell.

Verify death of patients, perform care after death, provide bereavement support for families and transfer deceased patients to the mortuary whilst ensuring the philosophy of the hospice is respected and maintained.

Ensure that nursing records and documents are completed accurately and legibly to meet organisational, professional and legal requirements.

Assist in maintaining custody of controlled drugs by ordering, checking and administering and ensuring safe handling according to Standard Operating Procedures.

Adhere to and provide professional standards and codes of conduct, act as an effective role model, educator and mentor for junior members of staff.

Adhere to hospice policies and procedures.

Maintain and develop own professional practice, keeping up to date with new developments and concepts both clinical and professional.

Managerial responsibilities

Coordinate, supervise and motivate a team of nurses as shift team leader and act as a resource for other staff with less palliative care knowledge and experience, actively participating in training and education of qualified and unqualified staff to assist in the professional clinical development of self and colleagues.

Assessing, planning, implementing and evaluating individual specialist palliative patient care without supervision, advising patients and relatives accordingly.

Collect, collate, evaluate and report information to maintain accurate records. Take a proactive role in producing accurate and complete records which are consistent with legislation, policies and procedures.

Together with the senior nursing team apply standards of nursing care and ensure that these are maintained at optimum level.

Be accountable for the care delivered by health care assistants when under the post holders supervision.

Deal with accidents and incidents and complaints involving patients, relatives, visitors and staff by completing statements and reporting such incidents/accidents in accordance with hospice policy.

Participate in the maintaining of equipment and adequate supplies of stores, including an awareness of budgeting costs in order that all resources are used appropriately and judiciously.

Education and Development Responsibilities

Attend mandatory training and relevant course/study days in accordance with the training and education policy and keep a personal portfolio of such.

Participate with other IPU staff in ensuring a conducive learning experience for junior staff and students.

Participate in the orientation/education programmes of all new staff.

Be responsible for ensuring own clinical supervision, and that an annual Individual Performance review is undertaken.

To maintain clinical and professional competence by keeping up to date with nursing healthcare trends and developments by reading clinical/professional literature, research, attending study days and by liaising with other professionals.

Research and Quality Responsibilities

Participate in any nursing research initiatives within the unit.

To be aware and comply with the requirements pertaining to Health and Safety at Work Act, especially in relation to COSHH, the Data Protection Act and the NMC Code of Professional Practice.

In conjunction with the senior nursing team, ensure that any service improvement action plans are successfully implemented.

To participate in ...