NursingNetUK

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

1. Clinical Practice

•  To provide and deliver a specialist nursing service for children and young people with endocrine conditions in both the hospital and community setting
• To provide expert nursing advice and support to patients, their families and other healthcare professionals following diagnosis and through treatment
• 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:

• • 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

• 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 patient’s records
• To be actively involved in in-patient care requiring endocrine input, specifically following neurosurgery,  liaising with neurosurgical staff where appropriate
• To participate in the paediatric endocrine out-patient clinic and assess appropriate patients.
• 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
• 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
• 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
• To co-ordinate a seamless service through the development of enhanced multi-disciplinary team (MDT) processes and communication
• To lead the identifications and development of clinical protocols and strategies to enhance both the continuity and standard of specialist care
• To ensure operational policies are reviewed annually in accordance with local and national standards
• To liaise with local community, social services, paramedics and voluntary organisations in order to develop existing services for patients, carers and health professionals
• To actively involve service users in providing feedback of their experience of the current service and suggestions for improvements, for example, through clinical audit
• To lead on the development of appropriate Patient Group Directive (PGD) to facilitate / enhance the discharge process or nurse led consultation
• 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
• To follow Trust safeguarding procedures and ensure any safeguarding concerns are escalated appropriately
• To participate in relevant fora at Care Group and Trust level to represent the service perspective
• 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
• 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
• 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 child’s care
• To lead and co-ordinate in complex dynamic endocrine investigations on the childrens wards where appropriate
• To liaise with ward staff to ensure appropriate and timely discharge / follow up arrangements are in place for patients
• 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
• To work with other colleagues within the MDT, and the adult endocrine service to develop the transition service for young people with endocrine conditions
• To co-ordinate the care and follow–up of families identified through newborn screening for congenital hypothyroidism
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• To liaise with the paediatric teams at relevant outreach clinics where appropriate
• To undertake community / school / home visits to children and families with other healthcare professionals from acute/community teams, if required 

Education and Research

• To act as a key resource and source of information for children, young people and families about all aspects of paediatric endocrine care
• 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
• To develop information for patients, carers and health professionals about all aspects of specialist care
• To lead on clinical audit, in particular ensuring patient experience surveys are completed and action plans developed
• 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.
• To attend meetings and conferences as appropriate having a thorough knowledge current issues both within the Trust and within specialist services locally and nationally
• 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
• To participate in and assist with any appropriate/relevant Trust approved research projects conducted within the department
• 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
• To publish and present relevant clinical practice and service developments at a local and national level

 Management

•  To participate in the operational and strategic development of the specialist endocrine service, both in and out patients
• To develop policies and protocols to improve patient care
• To liaise effectively with all other disciplines within the Trust and at local and national level
• To initiate and participate in the management of change to improve standards and communications links from Acute Trust through to Primary Care
• To contribute actively to any relevant initiatives within the care group and provide support to senior colleagues and Lead Nurse/Head of Nursing
• To contribute positively to the leadership of nursing within the Care Group, acting as an effective role model
• To introduce measures to actively manage and reduce risk to patients. To ensure the formal reporting of adverse incidents in line with Trust policy
• To support the Paediatric Matrons, Lead Nurses and Head of Nursing in implementing Trust initiatives and strategies
• 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
• To utilise and maintain information systems to aid audit and to provide regular actively analysis reports
• To maintain records and send reports set by various bodies pertaining to the specific speciality
• To maintain contemporaneous and accurate treatment records, submitting relevant statistics, reports and activity data as requested
• To evaluate the service, in terms of clinical effectiveness and excellence
• To ensure the best use of available resources within agreed budget to provide a cost effective service
• To forge effective links within primary, secondary and tertiary care to ensure effective communication
• To act as principle liaison with personnel from the pharmaceutical industry where appropriate
• To ensure compliance with the Trust’s Equality and Diversity Policy, supporting the delivery of the Trusts Race Equality Scheme and the Trust’s duty to positively promote race equality and equality of opportunity for disabled people ensuring services are responsive to the needs of equality groups