Clinical Nurse Specialist for Head, Neck and Thyroid Cancers
An exciting opportunity has arisen to join a well-established Head and Neck specialist nursing team to care for patients undergoing treatment for head, neck and thyroid cancers at The Christie Hospital in Manchester.
The successful candidate will be an experienced ENT/oncology/surgical nurse, highly motivated and driven to improve patient care and experience. You will be an excellent communicator and will have the opportunity to use your clinical and professional leadership skills to encourage and promote best outcomes for patients, their relatives and carers. Non‑medical prescribing would be desirable for this role whilst experience in the management of patients with altered airways is essential for this role.
Excellent interpersonal skills are paramount for this role together with the confidence to engage and work with a range of colleagues at all levels and from all professional groups.
To apply you need to be a dynamic, enthusiastic, motivated and pro‑active individual. The successful applicant will have experience and knowledge of treatment pathways and specialist care for head, neck and thyroid cancer patients, and must be able to demonstrate sound leadership skills.
Main duties of the job
Provide specialist and expert head, neck and thyroid cancer clinical knowledge and support to colleagues, patients and carers/relatives, both within and outside the Trust.
Perform a comprehensive keyworker role for patients with head and neck or thyroid cancer, throughout their care pathway at The Christie Hospital.
Work closely with teams at referring centres and GMCA to ensure that patient pathways of care are streamlined.
Play an integral role in the operational and strategic development of specialist services for Christie in‑patients and out‑patients with head and neck or thyroid cancers.
Be a highly visible and approachable role model, ensuring that best practice is disseminated throughout the clinical areas.
Actively contribute to any relevant initiatives within the care group and provide support to senior colleagues.
Provide clinical expertise for developing and enhancing head, neck and thyroid oncological treatment services, spanning both medical and clinical oncology specialities.
Develop and run nurse‑led services, including nurse‑led telephone clinics.
Use advanced communication skills in a variety of settings to facilitate difficult conversations around treatment plans, progressive disease, advanced care planning for end‑of‑life care.
Use Level 2 psychological skills to assess patients for psychological and/or emotional distress and initiate robust support and management plans, referring to other services as appropriate.
About us
The Christie is one of Europe's leading cancer centres, treating over 60,000 patients a year. We are based in Manchester and serve a population of 3.2 million across Greater Manchester & Cheshire, but as a national specialist around 15 % of patients are referred to us from other parts of the country. We provide radiotherapy through one of the largest radiotherapy departments in the world; chemotherapy on site and through 14 other hospitals; highly specialist surgery for complex and rare cancer; and a wide range of support and diagnostic services. We are also an international leader in research, with world‑first breakthroughs for over 100 years. We run one of the largest early clinical trial units in Europe with over 300 trials every year. Cancer research in Manchester, most of which is undertaken on the Christie site, has been officially ranked the best in the UK.
Job responsibilities
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
To act as a key worker contact for patients with head, neck or thyroid cancers, their families/carers and other professionals.
Support patients, carers and staff during situations arising in the clinical area, e.g., breaking bad news or following an unexpected event.
Act as a resource of specialised knowledge and clinical expertise to ensure care delivery to patients is appropriate, optimum and evidence based.
Demonstrates clinical expertise by role‑modeling patient‑centred practice to others.
Teach, advise and assess patients and carers with regard to head, neck and thyroid cancers, helping patients to make an informed treatment choice.
Use highly developed communication skills to deliver a high‑quality service within a complex and challenging environment across both primary and secondary care.
Provides leadership that facilitates professional decision making and effective multi-disciplinary team working.
Participates in the monitoring and audit of standards of care within the defined policies, procedures and guidelines for the management of head, neck and thyroid cancers.
Utilises, and ensures others utilises, information and IT systems to secure accurate and timely patient, workforce and data availability.
Responsible for identifying and assessing complex clinical and non‑clinical issues, implementing resolutions and monitoring/auditing outcomes.
Acts a resource for staff, advising on national, local and Trust policy and procedures/guidelines relevant to the specialty.
Supports junior nursing colleagues to develop management and leadership skills through appropriate delegation and supervision.
Contributes to the formulation of protocols/policies and clinical guidelines in liaison with the head and neck, and thyroid cancer clinicians.
Provides cross‑cover for the other Nurse Specialist(s) within the Head & Neck Multi‑disciplinary Team.
Promotes a culture that supports patient self‑management.
Clinical duties
Attend the Head & Neck and Thyroid clinics to meet patients and their relatives; providing information about treatment, being fully conversant with treatment protocols. Undertake a holistic assessment of patient needs, referring appropriately to services in the acute and community setting. To communicate effectively and support / counsel patients and relatives prior to, during and after treatment, acting as a point of contact.
Participate in and/or advise on the management of patients with altered airways and act as a first or second (initially dependent on training and experience) responder if problems with these patients arise.
Clinical assessment of patients on anti‑cancer treatments in planned nurse‑led clinics as well as unplanned telephone contacts. Undertaking non‑medical prescribing (within the limits of your competence) to manage treatment toxicity and symptoms.
Undertake IRMER training and develop skills in chest x‑ray / image ordering as appropriate.
Ensure accurate and timely documentation of patient care on the electronic patient record in accordance with hospital policies and NMC standards.
Act as a specialist contact for ward staff for inpatients, providing advice and support to the patient and family.
Attend MDT and radiology meetings as appropriate and contribute to discussions about individual patients. Attend other professional and clinical meetings as appropriate.
Have an awareness of current clinical trials and liaise with the Research Team regarding eligibility.
Leadership and Management.
Provide specialist, expert clinical knowledge to colleagues, patients and carers both within and outside the organisation.
Carry out line management of more junior staff (e.g. Clinical Nurse Specialist or Cancer Care Coordinator). This will be following discussion with the postholder.
Evaluate service delivery; identify areas for improvement to promote excellence in patient care and initiate change. Involve patients, patient representatives and the public in service development as appropriate.
Provide written evidence of service development and performance.
Engage in the work carried out by GM Cancer Alliance and build effective, professional relationships across Acute and Community settings.
Provide and receive clinical supervision and mentorship to facilitate reflective practice.
Attend and participate in the CNS and Chief Nurse Forum.
Education and Development
Participate in annual appraisal and accept personal responsibility for professional growth and development. Maintain a professional portfolio for the purpose of Revalidation.
Provide specialist education and training, as required, to all relevant health professionals regarding the care of patients with altered airways (tracheostomy and laryngectomy).
Ensure compliance with Trust essential training.
Identify training needs of colleagues and develop educational programmes in collaboration with nursing colleagues e.g., ward teaching, dissemination of best practice through presentation at conferences and study days.
Provide specialist input on relevant post‑registration courses.
Use relevant educational opportunities, including attending national and international conferences, to ensure provision of the highest standards of evidence‑based patient care. Provide written and verbal feedback to colleagues.
Together with other professional colleagues develop information and resource packs for patients and their carers.
Research and Audit
Ensure that clinical practice is evidence based best practice and disseminate information to staff.
Identify opportunities for nursing research and to participate in clinical audit to improve effectiveness of patient care.
Evaluate service delivery; identify areas for improvement and initiate change.
Professional
Accountable for own actions in accordance with NMC Code of Professional Conduct. Will contribute towards corporate objectives, acting within local, The Christie Trust and statutory guidelines and policies at all times.
Maintain responsibility for professional registration and practice through continuing personal development.
Maintain personal standards of conduct and behaviour consistent with Trust values and regulations set within the relevant professional bodies thus acting as a role model presenting a professional image at all times.
Liaise and collaborate with relevant organisations such as pharmaceutical industry and its partners.
Be aware of the policies, procedures and philosophies of the Trust, understanding health and safety requirements and ensure that all duties and responsibilities are carried out within these guidelines.
Raise quality issues and report related risks within the trust to address poor standards and incidents.
Support equality and value diversity.
This job description is an outline of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role and is not intended as an exhaustive list. The job will change over time to reflect the changing needs of the Trust and its services, as well as personal development needs of the post holder.
Person Specification
Qualifications
* RGN/RN (NMC registered)
* Degree in Nursing/Health related subject
* Post registration qualification in oncology or equivalent experience
* Teaching and assessing qualification or equivalent experience
* Experience/training in managing patients with altered airways, e.g. completion of National Tracheostomy Safety Project
* Master's degree or working towards
* Advanced communication skills training
* Level 2 Managing Psychological Distress training
* Leadership qualification or completion of leadership programme
* V300 Non‑Medical Prescribing Certification or willing to work towards this
* Clinical assessment module
Experience
* Recent clinical experience in oncology
* Experience in head, neck and thyroid cancer nursing at band 6 or above
* Participation in service development and implementation of change
* Audit or research experience
* Experience of working within a given resource and ability to demonstrate imaginative and effective use of resources
* Management of patients with complex needs
* Experience of influencing change
Skills
* Excellent verbal and non‑verbal communication skills
* Able to present information to professional groups
* Confidence to adapt to an evolving and changing service
* Able to use initiative and make decisions and prioritise and manage own workload
* Ability to analyse data and provide written reports
* Ability to work autonomously
* Ability to develop effective interpersonal relationships with colleagues across health and social care setting
* Strong organisational / prioritising skills
* Evidence of writing protocols, standards and guidelines.
* Ability to present information to professional groups
Knowledge
* An understanding of clinical governance and its relevance to the role
* Knowledge of professional and NHS issues, and policies relating to head and neck oncology specialty
* Evidence of continuing professional development
VALUES
* Ability to demonstrate the organisational values and behaviours
* Innovative and motivated
OTHER
* Demonstrate flexibility in working hours
* Attend Clinics and MDT meetings across sites
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Advanced Practitioner in Head & Neck Cancer
£49,387 to £56,515 a year per annum, pro rata
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