Job overview

To coordinate and supervise a shift, communicating effectively with members of a multidisciplinary team to deliver high quality, evidence-led care to patients.  
2. To exercise clinical judgment and decision making about patient needs in terms of long term goals or plans.  
3. To participate fully in the day to day organization and running of clinical trials including the 
recruitment, education and monitoring of patients entering a clinical trial and liaison as required with trial sponsors.  
4. To assume personal accountability for nursing care delivered to a patient in accordance with the NMC  code of conduct. There is an expectation for post holders:  
• To promote a safe clinical environment for all patients, visitors and staff  
• To participate in Trust initiatives around infection control and care quality indicators  
• To assist with any local or trust initiatives to ensure the continuous improvement of the  quality of services and safeguarding of high standards of care  
5. To help foster a supportive working environment and maintain staff morale  

The Senior Staff Nurse is responsible for assisting the Ward Sister / Charge Nurse in the 
management of the clinical environment and for the management of shifts and is required to take responsibility for the management and development of a team of employees under the supervision of the Ward Sister / Charge  Nurse.

Main duties of the job

To complete the first level assessment of patients with cancer and their families to gain an 
understanding of their physiological, psycho-social, spiritual and cultural needs and to develop a 
positive, realistic and supportive attitude to ensure that these needs are met. This will include:  
Counterchecking patients’ vital signs, blood results, patient body surface area, chemotherapy 
prescription and consent before administration of treatment.  
Educating patients on their treatment such as indications and side effects. 
Ensuring necessary medication and follow up appointments are obtained. 
To plan, document, deliver and evaluate care plans from admission through to discharge / 
transfer discussing this with the patient, their family and multi-disciplinary teams and to alert the 
Sister/Charge Nurse of any changes. To set goals for each of the identified nursing issues and 
encourage / teach other nursing staff to do the same. To help the patient achieve set goals through care planning.  
As a specialist cancer nurse, to assess the educational and informational needs of the patient and 
family. This includes producing and using appropriate materials to ensure optimum 
understanding of nursing care and the likely outcome. 

Working for our organisation

The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust is a world-leading cancer centre. Our role is to offer our patients the best cancer care available anywhere in the world, and to continue to make a global contribution to finding better ways of diagnosing and treating cancer. We employ over 4,500 staff in a diverse range of careers including nursing, medical, science, radiography, pharmacy, occupational therapy, finance and administrative services. We have two hospitals – one in Chelsea, London, and one in Sutton, Surrey – as well as a Medical Daycare Unit in Kingston Hospital.

At The Royal Marsden, we deal with cancer every day, so we understand how valuable life is. When people entrust their lives to us, they have the right to demand the very best. That's why the pursuit of excellence lies at the heart of everything we do.

At the heart of the hospital is our dedicated team. We offer a stimulating and dynamic working environment, a wide range of staff benefits, learning and development opportunities and clear career pathways. There are opportunities to work flexibly across a range of areas and specialities and we welcome flexible working requests from point of hire to support employees work life balance. We are looking for employees who aspire to excellence, share our values and can play a crucial role in our on-going achievements.