We have an exciting opportunity, we are seeking a clinically experienced SACT ACNP. This is a brand-new position within our chemotherapy departments, so the posts holder will have the opportunity to grow the role to meet the needs of the service. The post holder is an experienced Advanced Clinical Nurse Practitioner (ACNP), who will act as a clinical leader within the Chemotherapy day units across 3 sites. They will demonstrate safe, senior clinical decision-making by autonomously assessing patients attending the units.
Co-ordinate the care of cancer patients receiving SACT throughout the care pathway with the multidisciplinary team and clinical services to ensure the care is person centred, safe and effective.
Provide a strong presence, leadership and access to expertise across clinical areas with an 100% contribution to direct care (dependent upon service demand), with support from the Head of nursing and designated oncologist.
Assist the clinical and nursing teams, at all levels in the assessment and prioritisation of patients in the chemotherapy units.
Use advanced clinical assessment skills to autonomously manage patients with complex needs presenting to the chemotherapy units, to ensure that optimum psychosocial and emotional needs are met.
Proactively develop treatment plans for patients requiring urgent intervention including fluid resuscitation, oxygen therapy, antibiotics or other urgent treatment
Undertake procedures such as cannulation, venepuncture, arterial blood gases to facilitate efficient urgent care in the context of acute illness or sudden deterioration
Prescribe and review medication, appropriate to patient needs in the context of acute illness, considering any treatment given previously for pre-existing medical conditions, providing information and advice to patients on prescribed medication regimens, side-effects and interactions
We offer a full package of benefits, including a car lease scheme; on-site childcare; generous annual leave in line with NHS terms and conditions; high street and public transport discounts; a 24/7 staff support service - and the little things that make life easier, like on-site Amazon lockers and fresh fruit and veg stalls.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Co-ordinate the care of cancer patients receiving SACT throughout the care pathway with the multidisciplinary team and clinical services to ensure the care is person centred, safe and effective.
Accountable for own actions in accordance with their Code of Professional Conduct/professional registers. Will contribute to corporate objectives, acting within local, Trust and statutory guidelines and policies at all times.
Provide a strong presence, leadership and access to expertise across clinical areas with an 100% contribution to direct care (dependent upon service demand), with support from the Head of nursing and designated oncologist.
Highly developed communication skills enabling maintenance of high-quality service within a complex and challenging environment with often, conflicting priorities.
Assist the clinical and nursing teams, at all levels in the assessment and prioritisation of patients in the chemotherapy units.
Use advanced clinical assessment skills to autonomously manage patients with complex needs presenting to the chemotherapy units, to ensure that optimum psychosocial and emotional care needs are met.
Proactively develop treatment plans for patients requiring urgent intervention including fluid resuscitation, oxygen therapy, antibiotics or other urgent treatment
Undertake procedures such as cannulation, venepuncture, arterial blood gases to facilitate efficient urgent care in the context of acute illness or sudden deterioration
Initiate relevant investigations such as X-ray, Ultrasound, ECG and blood tests to enable timely diagnosis and facilitate early decision making.
Prescribe and review medication, appropriate to patient needs in the context of acute illness, considering any treatment given previously for pre-existing medical conditions, providing information and advice to patients on prescribed medication regimens, side-effects and interaction
Document clearly all aspects of assessment, diagnosis and management plan clearly and present the findings to the Consultant for Acute Medicine/SDEC/Oncology as clinically indicated and to work collaboratively with, Acute oncology (AO) palliative care, the Oncologist and on-call registrar out of hours.
Use the SBAR tool to communicate clinical concerns to the senior medical staff in the event that a patient is found to be critically unwell or deteriorating clinically
Communicate complex information effectively to patients and carers, recognising the need for alternative methods of communication to overcome different levels of understanding, cultural background and preferred ways of communicating
Maintain effective communication with the multidisciplinary team both within the Chemotherapy departments but with the wider team, and with other departments.
Act as an advocate for patients and colleagues .Ensure awareness of sources of support and guidance (Macmillan resources) and provide information in an acceptable format to all patients, recognising any difficulties and referring where appropriate.
Endorse the importance, at all levels, of implementing a shared vision and common values across the service to achieve excellence in person-centred care, raising awareness of the role of clinical leadership and its impact.
Prioritise, organise and manage own workload in a manner that maintains and promotes quality
Critically evaluate and review innovations and developments that are relevant to the area of work
Demonstrate continual evaluation of practice within the defined specialist area, making agreed changes where appropriate.
Deliver care according to local and national guidelines, working with the cancer alliance and UKONS to deliver evidence-based care, In line with the ACCEND framework
Initiate and participate in the maintenance of quality governance systems and processes across the organisation and its activities
Utilise the audit cycle as a means of evaluating the quality of the work of self and the team, implementing improvements where required
Evaluate patients response to health care provision and the effectiveness of care by working together with the patients carers to improve care.
Continuously assess and monitor risk in their own and others practice and challenge about wider risk factors.
Work with the Oncology Consultants, Acute Oncology and Chemotherapy Matron to develop the ACNP role in the chemotherapy units, in delivering high quality and effective care.
Monitor individual performance and identify areas for improvement. Share knowledge and expertise related to clinical and professional practice within and outside the organisation.
Role model the maintenance of patient safety and safe environments across the organisation
Encourage others to make realistic self-assessment of their application of knowledge and skills, challenging any complacency or actions that are not in the interest of the public and/or users of services
Work with Consultants, Acute Oncology and Matron to ensure sufficient staff of appropriate ability, quality and skill-mix are available to meet current and future service delivery.
Manage specifically identified services or projects as agreed with the Oncology team
Contribute to the development of local guidelines, protocols, clinical pathways and standards
Undertake mentorship and clinical supervision for more junior staff, assessing competence against set standards
Actively promote the workplace as a learning environment, encouraging everyone to learn from each other and from external good practice, working with the practice development nurses (PDN)
Develop formal and informal teaching sessions and study days for nursing staff in the chemotherapy units, and work with AO to teach across the wider organisation
Assess own learning needs at an advanced level and beyond and undertake learning as appropriate
Provide an educational role to patients, carers, families and colleagues in an environment that facilitates learning
Contribute to national guideline development groups and steering groups ensuring that the trust remains leading edge in its patient care
Maintain a personal professional profile.
Regularly participate in teaching activities for multidisciplinary team
Facilitate uptake and impact of R&D activity to inform practice across the organisation using knowledge transfer and mobilisation strategies
Continually evaluate and audit the practice of self and others selecting and applying a broad range of evaluation approaches and methods.
Critically appraise the outcomes of relevant research, evaluations and audits and apply them to improve practice.
Contribute to policy development locally, regionally and nationally
Establish an effective workplace culture across the service and organisation that sustains person-centred, safe and effective care through self-awareness, leadership, active learning, development, improvement and innovation.