Assistant Psychologist

at  Devon Partnership NHS Trust

The Community Neuropsychology Service offers neuropsychological assessment and short-term therapy to people in Exeter, East and Mid Devon living with brain injury and neurological conditions. We are developing new assessment pathways and are looking for an Assistant Psychologist to conduct assessments for people with neurological conditions like Multiple Sclerosis (MS). This role may also involve contributions towards the Functional Neurological Disorder psychology service. The Band 5 Assistant Psychologist will be required to: conduct psychometric assessments with adult community patients, as directed by their supervisor; score psychometric tests, collate and summarise the data onto specified data sheets and data bases and present these along with an observational record of the assessment session to their supervisor; under supervision, write up the results of assessment into an agreed formatted report and present this back to the individual; make patient wellbeing calls; attend meetings, clinical and other, as a representative of their supervisor as directed from time to time; handle clinical queries, to their level of competence, in the absence of their supervisor; maintain adequate records of their involvement with the patient and maintain the services clinical database, keeping records up to date at regular intervals; undertake data collection, collation and analysis exercises for the purpose of clinical audit and research as directed by their supervisor; carry out clinically related administrative duties from time to time, as directed by their supervisor; The post holder will ensure that an inventory of psychometric tools and resources is maintained, and that timely re-ordering of resources takes place.
Support qualified clinical psychologists with other duties appropriate to their competence level as agreed via departmental review. Communication & Working Relationships Clients, family and carers: To communicate in a highly skilled and sensitive manner with clients who may have specific difficulties in understanding and/or communicating and who may be hostile, antagonistic or highly emotionally disturbed. To communicate complex information clearly and in appropriate written and verbal form to enable service users to clearly understand the outcomes of assessments Colleagues: To work closely with colleagues in the service and in the wider health and neuropsychology service on a day to day basis. Health & social care staff: To communicate with a wide range of health & social care staff in hospitals/community settings in a skilled and sensitive manner.
To communicate complex and sensitive information concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of clients under the services care. To provide support & guidance in the application of psychological principles and techniques, and to foster reflective practice. Senior managers & professional staff: To maintain and build good working relationships with senior professional staff and managers within Devon Partnership Trust. Planning & Organisation To organise own timetable to balance the needs of service users with the requirements for supervision and non-clinical work.
Responsibility for Patient/Client Care, Treatment & Therapy Neuropsychological Assessment: To conduct neuropsychological assessments, under appropriate supervision, following an agreed framework, and deliver treatment plans within a supervised context for individuals, and groups, and to demonstrate awareness of diversity issues. To score the psychometric elements of assessment accurately and provide clear feedback regarding the outcomes to clinical psychologists To write the results of assessment into formatted reports and present these back to service users and carers clearly and sensitively. FND Assessment and Treatment: Potential contribution to FND assessments and online programme delivery under appropriate supervision. Policy, Service, Research & Development Responsibility The post holder is responsible for their own professional actions, acting within Trust policies and procedures and Professional Practice Guidelines, working within clearly defined occupational procedures.
Policy & service: To follow policy guidance in own role and to comment on proposed policy changes and service developments. R & D: To undertake service-relevant research and development activity agreed within the Community Neuropsychology service, and to organise personal or service led R & D activities as required. Responsibility for Finance, Equipment & Other Resources To be responsible for the security and confidentiality of licensed psychometric tests, including appropriate storage and re-ordering when appropriate. Careful use of IT and other equipment.
Responsibility for Supervision, Leadership & Management To participate in regular clinical supervision. To develop further skills and competencies that assist in the delivery of current duties. To provide training, as appropriate and under supervision, to other health service staff on subjects related to neuropsychology. Information Resources & Administrative Duties To maintain accurate records according to BPS and HCPC guidelines and to follow Trust and Department good practice for clinical note-keeping.
To be responsible for using an email account to generate, monitor, and respond to the e-mail traffic by which the Trust conducts much of its internal communication

Please refer the Job description for details