Cardiac Specialist Nurse (Secondment)

at  Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Clinical: Demonstrating highly specialised practice in the care and management of patients with chest pain of suspected or confirmed cardiac origin. Providing education and information appropriate to the patient and family and carers needs in order to promote an understanding of their condition and concordance with treatment. To include the development of appropriate written information. Assessment of individuals physical, psychological and social needs, requiring advanced clinical reasoning, investigative and analytical skills.
Planning, implementation and evaluation of specialised individual plans of care, recommending the best course of intervention. This necessitates high levels of autonomy and advocacy. Demonstrating highly specialist knowledge, skills and innovative practice in the area of cardiology, underpinned by a sound evidence base. Use of recognised outcome measures, assessment tools and advanced clinical skills to evaluate patient progress, reassess and alter interventions as required.
Participation in the development, implementation and evaluation of referral systems for cardiac services. Making appropriate and timely direct referrals to other health care professionals and other specialist services. Requesting appropriate investigations and the analysis, interpretation and comparison of the findings. To provide appropriate cover for other cardiac nurse specialist.
To work within Trust wide clinical guidelines, policies and procedures. Postholder will be able to prescribe following completion of the non-medical prescribing course and registration with the NMC and will undertake non-medical prescribing in accordance with the Trust non medical prescribing policyCommunication: Participating in and promoting collaborative working across the trust, primary, secondary and tertiary care, the cardiac network and in partnership with other professionals and agencies. Providing and receiving highly, sensitive information including diagnosis, prognosis and issues relating to lifestyle and behaviour change and where there may be significant barriers to acceptance requiring counselling and motivational interviewing skills. Presenting specialised information relating to service development, delivery and evaluation and clinical practice across the trust and network.
Ensuring concise and accurate documentation is kept in accordance with trust policy including maintenance and management of records and reports. To use and develop effective communication tools, verbal and non-verbal to communicate with patients who may have barriers to understanding or communicating. For example patients with hearing or sight problems, cognitive problems or difficulty in accepting diagnosis. To work closely with Consultant Cardiologists and other members of the Cardiology multidisciplinary team to ensure that a high standard of care is delivered to patients.Quality and Effectiveness: To lead on or assist with the development and implementation of policies, procedures, guidelines and standards as required.
Ensuring practice is based on best evidence, including the interpretation of national guidance at local level. Demonstrating continuous evaluation of practice and service delivery. Designing and conducting audit and making appropriate changes following evaluation. Active participation in audit.
Participation in cardiology research studies Promoting and disseminating current research and audit findings. Demonstrating a specialist knowledge and application to practice of the clinical trials relating to heart disease. Identifying researchable questions, gaps in practice and sources of potential funding.Managerial and Organisational Responsibilities: To lead, plan and evaluate specialist nursing activities within the area of clinical practice in conjunction with the Operational Lead for Cardiology Services and the Clinical Director for Cardiology. To participate in the management of the service to meet local and national requirements.
To participate in the construction, implementation, review and modification of business plan to meet future service needs. To identify opportunities for improvements to the services and manage change in collaboration with others. To generate, provide, analyse, record and store information to support decision-making. To assess, monitor and manage risk, working within the clinical governance framework to improve service quality.
Developing and monitoring the service in line with local and national requirements and guidelines.Resource Management: To provide specialist advice with regard the purchase and commissioning of resources relating to the speciality. To ensure equipment is properly used and maintained.Education and TrainingThe post holder will develop self and contribute to the development of the knowledge and practice of others by: Providing support, information, education and training to meet the needs of multi-disciplinary health care professionals, patients, families and carers. Supporting and challenging others on specific aspects of their practice. Developing and evaluating written information.
Supporting student nurse placements. Developing strategies for sharing knowledge and influencing practice. Challenging professional and organizational boundaries in the interests of patients. Providing evidence of academic achievement and professional experience and standing.
Actively encouraging a team culture across the area of practice. Facilitating open channels of communication to feed back ideas, demonstrating a commitment to nurturing creativity and innovation. Identifying and undertaking individual personal development plan for self, maintaining a professional portfolio, collecting evidence of personal development and reflective practice. Supporting and enabling clinical supervision.
Establishing and maintaining a regional and national network of contacts.Additional Professional ResponsibilitiesThe post holder will comply with: Nursing and Midwifery Council Code of Professional Conduct Nursing and Midwifery Council Guidelines for Professional Practice All Trust policies guidelines and procedure

Please refer the Job description for details