Job summary
King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in South East London is a large teaching hospital and is at the forefront of academic and nursing excellence. We are looking for a highly motivated, flexible and enthusiastic individual to recruit into a band 7 Clinical Nurse Specialist role for Paediatric Endocrinology.
This is a well established role, caring for children with endocrine disorders in the inpatient and outpatients setting, working collaboratively with other specialities.
Your clinical caseload will include young children requiring therapy for early puberty and children on daily growth hormone injections, as well as giving regular advice and education to children and their families with thyroid, adrenal and pituitary disorders.
You will be closely involved in developing clinical protocols, international and national audit, and maintaining a Trust lead in national research studies.
Regular teaching is held at GOSH / ICH and within the South Thames Paediatric Endocrine Group, and opportunities are available to attend regular national endocrine nursing conferences, providing excellent networking opportunities, and also fully supported international endocrine conferences. Further guidance and support will be provided by the Consultant Paediatric Endocrinologist, and learning from the RCN Career and Competency Framework for CYP Endocrine Nurse Specialists (2019).
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Main duties of the job
To work as an autonomous clinical nurse specialist to co-ordinate and deliver expert nursing care effectively to a defined caseload of children, young people with endocrine conditions and their families across both the acute and community setting.
To lead in the development of evidence based clinical nursing practice in line with current research and guidelines.
To maintain clear lines of communication with primary healthcare teams in order to increase knowledge and facilitate the care of this group of children, young people and families in the community.
To act as a key resource and source of specialist support to colleagues across primary/secondary/tertiary care settings.
Particular emphasis is put at Kings on the need to ensure that all staff recognize their responsibility to deliver services in a high quality, courteous, patient focused manner maintaining patient confidentiality at all times.
About us
King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is one of the UK's largest and busiest teaching Trusts with a turnover of £1 billion, million patient contacts a year and around 14,000 staff based across 5 main sites in South East London. The Trust provides a full range of local hospital services across its different sites, and specialist services from King's College Hospital (KCH) sites at Denmark Hill in Camberwell and at the Princess Royal University Hospital (PRUH) site in Bromley.
King's is committed to delivering Sustainable Healthcare for All via our Green Plan. In line with national Greener NHS ambitions, we have set net zero carbon targets of 2040 for our NHS Carbon Footprint and 2045 for our NHS Carbon Footprint Plus. Everyone's contribution is required in order to meet the goals set out in our Green Plan and we encourage all staff to work responsibly, minimising their contributions to the Trust's carbon emissions, waste and pollution wherever possible.
The trust-wide strategy Strong Roots, Global Reachis our Vision to be BOLD, Brilliant people, Outstanding care, Leaders in Research, Innovation and Education, Diversity, Equality and Inclusion at the heart of everything we do. By being person-centred, digitally-enabled, and focused on sustainability, we can take Team King's to another level
Job description
Job responsibilities
1. Clinical Practice
2. To provide and deliver a specialist nursing service for children and young people with endocrine conditions in both the hospital and community setting
3. To provide expert nursing advice and support to patients, their families and other healthcare professionals following diagnosis and through treatment
4. To ensure continuity of a high standard of evidence based nursing care, assessing health, health related and nursing needs of patients and their families and other carers by identifying and initiating appropriate steps for effective care. These can include:
5. Managing a patient caseload Ordering diagnostic tests Making and receiving referrals Admitting and discharging patients for specific conditions and within agreed Trust protocols Prescribing medicines and treatments
6. To accept clinical responsibility for own patient caseload, ensuring all patients have an accurate plan of care which reflects the assessment undertaken and incorporates the issues and recommendations made ensuring clear documentation in the patients records
7. To be actively involved in in-patient care requiring endocrine input, specifically following neurosurgery, liaising with neurosurgical staff where appropriate
8. To participate in the paediatric endocrine out-patient clinic and assess appropriate patients.
9. To lead in the care of specific patients, within the nurse led clinic environment, utilising Trust policy patient proformas as appropriate. To provide nurse consultation with all newly diagnosed patients
10. To follow up patients as appropriate and ensure all relevant information is available to enable patients to make informed choice about treatment and management about their condition
11. To be a knowledgeable and visible expert practitioner within the specialty, working with ward/clinic staff to ensure the provision of high quality evidence based nursing care for children and young people, and that this is accurately communicated and documented
12. To co-ordinate a seamless service through the development of enhanced multi-disciplinary team (MDT) processes and communication
13. To lead the identifications and development of clinical protocols and strategies to enhance both the continuity and standard of specialist care
14. To ensure operational policies are reviewed annually in accordance with local and national standards
15. To liaise with local community, social services, paramedics and voluntary organisations in order to develop existing services for patients, carers and health professionals
16. To actively involve service users in providing feedback of their experience of the current service and suggestions for improvements, for example, through clinical audit
17. To lead on the development of appropriate Patient Group Directive (PGD) to facilitate / enhance the discharge process or nurse led consultation
18. To ensure that each child is assessed, and their care planned, implemented and evaluated in negotiation with the family and other staff caring for the child in accordance with agreed protocols
19. To follow Trust safeguarding procedures and ensure any safeguarding concerns are escalated appropriately
20. To participate in relevant fora at Care Group and Trust level to represent the service perspective
21. To participate in the identification, development and updating of clinical protocols and strategies to enhance both the continuity and standard of specialist care for endocrine conditions whilst ensuring equity of access to the service
22. To carry out acute and specialist endocrine treatment using appropriate skills, ensuring all care is given in accordance with agreed plan of care and established protocols/clinical guidelines
23. To provide information, clinical advice and support to children and families with endocrine conditions and act as a resource to other professionals involved in that childs care
24. To lead and co-ordinate in complex dynamic endocrine investigations on the childrens wards where appropriate
25. To liaise with ward staff to ensure appropriate and timely discharge / follow up arrangements are in place for patients
26. To follow up patients as appropriate and ensure all relevant information is available to enable children, young people and families to make an informed choice about their treatment and care
27. To work with other colleagues within the MDT, and the adult endocrine service to develop the transition service for young people with endocrine conditions
28. To co-ordinate the care and followup of families identified through newborn screening for congenital hypothyroidism
29. To lead and co-ordinate the care of children and young people with Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH) requiring home 17-OHP bloodspot testing in the South East region, in association with the Clinical Biochemistry department
30. To provide information to children, young people and their families about growth hormone therapy. To provide teaching, assessment and support for children and their families on the administration of growth hormone therapy
31. To develop and maintain relationships with growth hormone pharmaceutical personnel in order to provide a seamless service in providing care for children requiring growth hormone therapy, including pharmaceutical company representatives, homecare teams and support package providers
32. To co-ordinate the care, and the preparation and administration of GnRH analogues for children with precocious puberty within the nurse led clinic or on the day care unit. To conduct pubertal staging assessments
33. To provide information to children, young people and their families concerning the need for the administration of emergency hydrocortisone therapy, liaising with schools and nurseries where appropriate
34. To liaise with the paediatric teams at relevant outreach clinics where appropriate
35. To undertake community / school / home visits to children and families with other healthcare professionals from acute/community teams, if required
Education and Research
36. To act as a key resource and source of information for children, young people and families about all aspects of paediatric endocrine care
37. To initiate, lead and develop programmes of education for nursing staff to enhance the nursing contribution and quality of care to nurses both across the Trust, nationally and internationally
38. To develop information for patients, carers and health professionals about all aspects of specialist care
39. To lead on clinical audit, in particular ensuring patient experience surveys are completed and action plans developed
40. To implement programmes of education and training in accordance with the identified needs children, young people and families and other healthcare professionals involved in their care.
41. To attend meetings and conferences as appropriate having a thorough knowledge current issues both within the Trust and within specialist services locally and nationally
42. To promote and facilitate evidence based practice and clinical audit within the Trust, raising the profile and enhancing the contribution of nursing to patient care
43. To participate in and assist with any appropriate/relevant Trust approved research projects conducted within the department
44. To work with and support ward managers and other clinical staff to identify areas where changes to practice are required. Also where opportunities exist to improve treatment and support for patients
45. To publish and present relevant clinical practice and service developments at a local and national level
Management
46. To participate in the operational and strategic development of the specialist endocrine service, both in and out patients
47. To develop policies and protocols to improve patient care
48. To liaise effectively with all other disciplines within the Trust and at local and national level
49. To initiate and participate in the management of change to improve standards and communications links from Acute Trust through to Primary Care
50. To contribute actively to any relevant initiatives within the care group and provide support to senior colleagues and Lead Nurse/Head of Nursing
51. To contribute positively to the leadership of nursing within the Care Group, acting as an effective role model
52. To introduce measures to actively manage and reduce risk to patients. To ensure the formal reporting of adverse incidents in line with Trust policy
53. To support the Paediatric Matrons, Lead Nurses and Head of Nursing in implementing Trust initiatives and strategies
54. To network with the team of clinical nurse specialists within the Child Health Dept and Trust to evaluate, develop and promote the specialist-nursing role
55. To utilise and maintain information systems to aid audit and to provide regular actively analysis reports
56. To maintain records and send reports set by various bodies pertaining to the specific speciality
57. To maintain contemporaneous and accurate treatment records, submitting relevant statistics, reports and activity data as requested
58. To evaluate the service, in terms of clinical effectiveness and excellence
59. To ensure the best use of available resources within agreed budget to provide a cost effective service
60. To forge effective links within primary, secondary and tertiary care to ensure effective communication
61. To act as principle liaison with personnel from the pharmaceutical industry where appropriate
62. To ensure compliance with the Trusts Equality and Diversity Policy, supporting the delivery of the Trusts Race Equality Scheme and the Trusts duty to positively promote race equality and equality of opportunity for disabled people ensuring services are responsive to the needs of equality groups
Person Specification
Education
Essential
63. NMC part 1 ( children)
64. A Clinical expert either through formal qualification (degree or masters ) and /or extensive clinical experience pertinent to endocrinology
Desirable
65. Non-Medical Prescribing Course
Skills
Essential
66. Excellant oral and written skills
67. Advanced Clinical assessment skills
68. Strong leadership skills
Desirable
69. Basic counselling skills
70. Presentation skills
Experience
Essential
71. Experience of handling incidents and complaints
72. Ability to build a rapport with patients/families and colleagues
73. Track record of innovating services
74. Knowledge proven interest in working with children
Desirable
75. Experience of service development
76. Knowledge of research/audit methodologies