SE

Clinical Perfusion Scientist Staff Grade

Job Specification & Terms and Conditions

Job Title and Grade / Clinical Perfusion Scientist Staff Grade
(Grade Code:3007)
Campaign
Reference / NRS02152
Closing Date / Wednesday 06/May/2015 at 12 Noon
Proposed Interview Date(s) / Week Commencing 29/May/2015
Taking up appointment / A start date will be indicated at Job Offer stage
Organisational Area / Health Service Executive South
Location of Post / Cork University Hospital ,Wilton ,Cork
Cardio thoracic theatre/Cardiac ITU/Cardiac Cath Lab, Cork University Hospital,Wilton, Cork
Details of Service / Provision of all aspects of Adult Clinical Perfusion/CPB and associated duties including operation of IABP, external pacemaking, blood gas analysis ,coagulation testing (ACT/TEG),pressure monitoring and other associated duties.
Compulsory participation in on-call service and flexibility in working hours.
Reporting Relationship / Reports to and responsible to Chief Clinical Perfusion Scientist.
Purpose of the Post / As an autonomous practitioner, a Clinical Perfusion Scientist Staff Grade
offers a comprehensive specialist clinical and technical perfusion service during both routine and emergency procedures as a vital member of the multi-disciplinary team during cardiac surgery. The Clinical Perfusion Scientist Staff Grade
will also participate in the development of department protocols and research.
Key Dimensions
  • Provide a comprehensive, specialist perfusion service as a vital member of the multidisciplinary team.
  • Maintain infection control within Clinical Perfusion Science and Research.
  • Maintain stock and stock control.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities / Clinical Practice
The Clinical Perfusion Scientist Staff Grade will:
  • Take, where appropriate, delegated responsibility for the delivery of a highly specialist perfusion service, ensuring the service is effective and well
co-ordinated.
  • Offer and undertake a range of highly specialised perfusion techniques during routine and emergency cardiopulmonary bypass.
  • Assess the patient’s relevant medical history, pathology and diagnosis and make appropriate decisions concerning conduct of the procedure.
  • Advise clinicians on the suitability of equipment and persuade clinicians on appropriate course of action.
  • Set up, prime and run the cardiopulmonary bypass machine to maintain “life support” for the period of cardiopulmonary bypass according to broad occupational and clinical policies as well as recent scientific evidence seeking advice when necessary.
  • Undertake, analyse and interpret arterial/venous blood gases and patient coagulation status.
  • Administer drugs including colloid/ crystalloid fluids, vasoactive drugs, cardioplegia solution, potassium, anticoagulants, haemostatic drugs, sodium bicarbonate and osmotic diuretics as clinically indicated.
  • Monitor a wide range of highly complex and routinely conflicting clinical information on a minute-to-minute basis such as the blood oximetry, cardiac output, systemic vascular resistance, ventilation and anticoagulation whilst monitoring renal status and blood glucose and take appropriate autonomous action.
  • Manipulate on a second-to-second basis the patient’s cardiovascular system whilst on cardiopulmonary bypass.
  • Determine requirement for, and perform where clinically indicated, haemofiltration and blood transfusion during cardiopulmonary bypass.
  • Set up and manage, where appropriate; antegrade/retrograde cerebral perfusion; deep hypothermic circulatory arrest; mechanical support devices; extracorporeal membrane oxygenation; and extracorporeal carbon dioxide removal.
  • Ensure quality control, calibration and maintenance of expensive complex medical equipment in Clinical Perfusion and their safe use in compliance with Near-Patient Testing Policies.
  • Participate in the running of an intra-aortic balloon counter-pulsation service, ensuring availability of skilled clinical perfusion staff to support less-experienced staff in surgery, cardiology, and intensive care.
  • Participate fully in Clinical Perfusion’s 24hr on-call cover.
Management
The Clinical Perfusion Scientist Staff Grade will:
  • Liaise with other members of the surgical, anaesthetic and nursing team.
  • Support management of a work programme for all clinical areas.
  • Manage and prioritise own caseload/workload independently.
  • Responsible for supervision of students, involving judging competence levels and organising suitable activity.
  • Required to complete training record and casebook.
  • Discuss and sensitively deal with any highlighted problems that have arisen during supervision. This may be providing reassurance where necessary or discussing the problem with a senior member of staff.
  • Maintain infection control policies within the department.
  • Respect the confidentiality of all matters that may relate to colleagues employment and other members of staff.
  • Advise line managers on issues of service delivery including shortfall and activity
Education & Training
The Clinical Perfusion Scientist Staff Grade will:
  • Organise and implement education and training programmes including specialist core lectures for student Clinical Perfusion Scientists and other staff members.
  • Responsible for providing a working insight of cardiopulmonary bypass for the purpose of teaching other members of the Cardiothoracic Directorate including anaesthetic Registrars and medical students whilst ensuring the safe optimal delivery of cardiopulmonary bypass and thus patient care.
  • Must undertake presentations to a broad range of audiences often of large numbers to promote understanding of a unique specialty.
  • Encourage and support staff development and training.
  • Attend post-graduate courses, seminars and conferences to facilitate continual professional development.
Research & Development
The Clinical Perfusion Scientist Staff Grade will:
  • Develop specialised techniques and protocols.
  • Participate in developing and implementing protocols and procedures within clinical perfusion.
  • Remain responsible for assuming and up-dating knowledge on areas surrounding policies and ensure that the relevant information is distributed to the appropriate individuals.
  • Regularly evaluate, research and audit perfusion equipment testing as part of routine work.
  • Evaluate and contribute to changes in practice to improve quality of patient care.
  • Offer advice in conjunction with lead clinicians for research and development in the directorate to promote perfusion research within a multidisciplinary team.
  • Liaise, co-ordinate and comply with other appropriate authorities and departments in the development work of research e.g. medical staff, R&D, Ethics committee, suppliers and both internal and external laboratories.
  • Critically review current literature to reflect current thinking of principles and practices of cardiopulmonary bypass, which ultimately lead to improvement in patient care.
  • Ensure that all duties are carried out in accordance with policies, practices and procedures of Cork University Hospital.
  • Comply with the corporate governance structure in keeping with the principles and standards set out by Cork University Hospital.
Freedom to Act
The Clinical Perfusion Scientist Staff Grade will:
  • Draw on knowledge of a range of theories to inform practice. Assist in developing strategies for the management and delivery of care to the patient.
  • Work as an autonomous practitioner, taking responsibility for organising and delegating, where appropriate multiple techniques required during a single procedure e.g. Cardiopulmonary bypass, cell salvage, blood gases and intra-aortic balloon pumps.
  • Take initiative, manage and prioritise own caseload/workload independently.
  • Monitor and evaluate own service delivery and that of others in the team.
  • Accountable for own professional action and recognise own professional boundaries through interpretation of clinical / professional policies.
  • Work within defined departmental and national protocols/policies and professional code of conduct.
  • Work independently accessing appraisal within an individual performance framework at pre-determined intervals.
  • Provide evidential action on own initiative as clinical circumstances indicate.
  • Administer selective cardiovascular and controlled drugs as clinically indicated and determined.
Communication
The Clinical Perfusion Scientist Staff Grade will:
  • Communicate in an effective, clear, concise exact manner as a core member of the Cardiothoracic surgical and anaesthetic teams providing and receiving complex and contentious information to ensure positive patient outcomes.
  • Communicate in a proactive manner. This is particularly important in an emergency situation.
  • Routinely relay sensitive information to members of staff and Lead Perfusionist etc to ensure appropriate continuation of care of the patient or service.
  • Participate in discussions with clinicians within and outside immediate surgical team in devising an appropriate care pathway for patients. This is particularly important for patients whose underlying pathology is not conducive to Cardiopulmonary Bypass.
  • Convey information that is frequently highly complex via various media to a broad range of audiences to promote understanding of a unique specialty.
  • Demonstrate good negotiation skills in the management of conflict across a range of clinical situations.
Knowledge, Training & Experience
The Clinical Perfusion Scientist Staff Grade will:
  • Maintain re-registration with the College of Clinical Perfusion Scientists of Great Britain and Ireland gaining the clinical points and academic points necessary through international and national conferences or other relevant training to maintain, develop and contribute to knowledge of clinical advances in specialist areas of expertise.
  • Keep up to date with new techniques and developments of new research to maintain good perfusion practice.
  • Maintain a current knowledge base of conditions and disease processes relevant to the conduct of cardiopulmonary bypass.
  • Reflect on practice particularly unique cases. Present information to consolidate understanding and knowledge from cases.
  • Consolidate specialist skills, knowledge and expertise in clinical practice. Applying these skills to the supervision and training of others within the department and the multidisciplinary team.
  • Maintain a current knowledge base of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of relevant cardiovascular drugs employed during and affecting cardiopulmonary bypass.
  • Familiar with and work within the broad guidelines for “best practice” set out by the Society of Clinical Perfusion Scientists of Great Britain and Ireland.
  • Familiar with departmental and Cork University Hospital Blood Transfusion Policies.
  • Identify personal/professional development evidenced in a portfolio through an appraisal framework including objectives relating to clinical specialty.
  • Participate in formal individual performance review and set objectives to meet personal and professional demands.
  • Apply principles of clinical governance to professional practice.
Analytical and Judgement Skills
The Clinical Perfusion Scientist Staff Grade will:
  • Able to use specialist knowledge to inform sound clinical judgements/decision making for complex cases and advise others on the same often in the absence of a full clinical picture.
  • Monitor a wide range of highly complex and routinely conflicting and complex clinical information on a minute-to-minute basis and take appropriate autonomous action.
  • Discuss and evaluate options for best practice with colleagues as to the individual case management to optimise patient outcomes.
  • Adapt to meet individual patient needs often in highly charged difficult critical clinical circumstances.
  • Demonstrate reflection on practice with peers.
Information Resources
The Clinical Perfusion Scientist Staff Grade will:
  • Create own clinical perfusion reports by employing clinical perfusion data acquisition software and manage own data acquisition database.
  • Maintain accurate paper and database records of clinical data.
  • These records should be easily accessible by all for the purpose of audit, stock control, finance, performance management, professional registration and bench marking purposes.
  • Ensure that all information is handled in accordance with Cork University Hospitals’ policies.
Financial & Physical Resources
The Clinical Perfusion Scientist Staff Grade will:
  • Responsible for careful use of all aspects of perfusion equipment. Ensure that equipment is in safe working order prior to use. All faults should be reported.
  • Responsible for maintaining departmental stock levels and expiration dates when required.
  • Responsible for costing/sourcing suppliers as and when required.
Planning & Organising
The Clinical Perfusion Scientist Staff Grade will:
  • Organise and implement education and training programmes including specialist core lectures for student Clinical Perfusion Scientists and other staff members.
  • Support management of a work programme for all clinical areas.
  • Manage and prioritise own caseload/workload independently often combining multiple and complex duties within deadlines whilst still meeting clinical obligations.
  • Plan and organise ahead for several eventualities whilst maintaining flexibility should the course of work change.
  • Contribute to the development of innovative and specialised techniques.
  • Identify and target training requirements, both formal and informal and appropriate to the needs of the individual and professional colleagues.
Physical Skills
The Clinical Perfusion Scientist Staff Grade will:
  • Use highly developed auditory, visual and perceptive skills including precise hand and eye co-ordination to ensure safe management of cardiopulmonary bypass.
  • Act quickly and think clearly, frequently under acute time pressure to resolve an emergency situation.
  • Accomplished manual dexterity essential for manipulation and construction of extracorporeal circuit.
Physical Effort
The Clinical Perfusion Scientist Staff Grade will:
  • Have due regard for personal and others safety with respect to moving and handling regulations.
  • Frequent requirement to move extremely heavy (greater than 250kg) and cumbersome perfusion equipment between clinical areas including the transfer of patients on specialist devices.
  • Unload, unpack and rearrange heavy perfusion equipment on a regular basis.
  • Dismantle and remove cumbersome clinical waste safely from relevant areas and clean equipment and service areas of contaminated waste.
Mental Effort
The Clinical Perfusion Scientist Staff Grade will:
  • Maintain intense levels of concentration in all aspects of patient management for prolonged periods of time, in particular to monitor and manipulate vital patient parameters.
  • Be flexible to the demands of environment including unpredictable workload, emergency procedures, deadlines and catastrophic clinical situations.
Emotional Effort
The Clinical Perfusion Scientist Staff Grade will:
  • Maintain calm during emergency and high-pressure situation, being able to communicate effectively and clearly to all colleagues in the multidisciplinary team.
  • Maintain sensitivity and dignity of patients in all clinical circumstances including emergency situations and in the event of patient fatality during the procedure.
  • Engage and interact with patients (and their relatives) when they are on mechanical assist devices, often where patient prognosis is poor.
  • Develop appropriate strategies for dealing with perioperative and postoperative death.
  • Develop appropriate strategies and skills for dealing with stress and stressful situations.
  • Deal with often traumatic and occasionally highly distressing circumstances.
Working Conditions
The Clinical Perfusion Scientist Staff Grade will:
  • Be familiar with procedures for handling and disposal of dangerous materials to minimise exposure to large amounts of hazardous products.
  • Work on a daily basis exposed to patient body fluids and infectious material whilst managing the single most invasive device used in routine surgery and patient management.
Risk Management, Infection Control, Hygiene Services and Health & Safety
The Clinical Perfusion Scientist Staff Grade will:
  • Have a working knowledge of HIQA Standards as they apply to the role for example, Standards for Healthcare, National Standards for the Prevention and Control of Healthcare Associated Infections, Hygiene Standards etc.
  • Staff will be provided with the necessary education, training and support to enable them to meet this responsibility.
  • Staff have a duty to familiarise themselves with the relevant Organisational Policies Procedures & Standards and attend training as appropriate in the following areas:-
Continuous Quality Improvement Initiatives
Document Control Information Management Systems
Risk Management Strategy and Policies
Hygiene Related Policies, Procedures and Standards
Decontamination Code of Practice
Infection Control Policies
Safety Statement, Health and Safety Policies and Fire Procedure
Data Protection and Confidentiality Policies
  • You are responsible for ensuring that you become familiar with the requirements stated within the CUH Risk Management Strategy and that you comply with the Hospitals Risk Management Incident /Near Miss reporting Policies and Procedures.
  • You are responsible for ensuring that you comply with hygiene services requirements in your area of responsibility. Hygiene Services incorporates environment and facilities, hand hygiene, catering, cleaning, the management of laundry, waste, sharps and equipment
  • You must foster and support a quality improvement culture through-out your area of responsibility in relation to hygiene services.
  • Your specific responsibility for Quality& Risk Management, Hygiene Services, and Health & Safety will be clarified to you in the induction process and by your line manager.
  • Each employee must take reasonable care for his or her own actions and the effect they may have upon the safety of others.
  • Employees must cooperate with management, attend Health & Safety related training, and not undertake any task for which they have not been authorised and adequately trained.
  • Every employee is required to bring to the attention of a responsible person any perceived shortcoming in our safety arrangements or any defects in work equipment.
  • It is the responsibility of each employee to be aware of and comply with the HSE Health Care Records Management/Integrated Discharge Planning (HCRM/IDP) Code of Practice.
  • To support, promote and actively participate in sustainable energy, water and waste initiatives to create a more sustainable, low carbon and efficient health service.

Eligibility Criteria
Qualifications and experience / Candidates must, on the latest date for receiving completed application forms for this post possess:
a)(i) Be accredited by the College of Clinical Perfusion of Great Britain and
Ireland
or
(ii)possess an equivalent qualification
and
(iii)be registered with the College of Clinical Perfusionists of Great Britain and Ireland as a practising Clinical Perfusionist
b) Have the clinical and administrative capacity to properly discharge the functions
of the role
Age
Age restriction shall only apply to a candidate where s/he is not classified as a new entrant (within the meaning of the Public Service Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2004). A candidate who is not classified as a new entrant must be under 65 years of age on the first day of the month in which the latest date for receiving completed application forms for the office occurs.
Health
Candidates for and any person holding the office must be fully competent and capable of undertaking the duties attached to the office and be in a state of health such as would indicate a reasonable prospect of ability to render regular and efficient service.
Character
Candidates for and any person holding the office must be of good character.
Post Specific Requirements / n/a
Other requirements specific to the post /
  • Participate in departmental on-call rota.
  • Be flexible in covering additional hours often at un-social hours
  • Must provide a very flexible working approach to accommodate the rapidly changing nature of surgical environment especially in a small department.
  • Access to transport

Skills, competencies and knowledge /
  • Demonstrate evidence of post-graduate knowledge of routine and specialised clinical techniques e.g. Ventricular Assist Devices, Vacuum Assisted Drainage, Blood Conservation, including Intra-Aortic Balloon Counterpulsation, extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation
  • Demonstrate evidence of Policy and/or Protocol development and/or contribution.
  • Demonstrate a basic understanding of statistics.
  • Demonstrate an understanding of the capabilities and limitations of clinical equipment used
  • Demonstrate knowledge of clinical hazards & emergency procedures.
  • Demonstrate evidence of competency in IT skills, including Microsoft Word, Excel, Power Point and Access as well as hospital and perfusion databases.
  • Demonstrate the ability to plan and organise effectively
  • Demonstrate leadership and team management skills, including the ability to work as part of a multi-disciplinary team
  • Demonstrate evidence of being accountable for own professional action.
  • Demonstrate strong interpersonal skills including the ability to build and maintain relationships
  • Demonstrate sufficient communication skills to effectively carry out the duties and responsibilities of the role
  • Demonstrate experience of applying evidence based practice
  • Demonstrate sufficient clinical knowledge to carry out the duties and responsibilities of the role
  • Demonstrate an ability to apply knowledge to best practice
  • Demonstrate the ability to plan and deliver care in an effective and resourceful manner within a model of person-centred care
  • Demonstrate the ability to manage self in a busy working environment
  • Demonstrate the ability to evaluate information and make effective decisions especially with regard to service user care
  • Display effective communication and interpersonal skills including the ability to collaborate with colleagues, families, schools etc.
  • Display awareness and appreciation of the service user and the ability to empathise with and treat others with dignity and respect
  • Demonstrate effective team skills
  • Demonstrate flexibility and openness to change
  • Demonstrate ability to utilise supervision effectively
  • Demonstrate a willingness to develop IT skills relevant to the role
  • Demonstrate commitment to continuing professional development

Campaign Specific Selection Process
Ranking / Shortlisting / Interview / A ranking and or shortlisting exercise may be carried out on the basis of information supplied in your application form. The criteria for ranking and or shortlisting are based on the requirements of the post as outlined in the eligibility criteria and skills, competencies and/or knowledge section of this job specification. Therefore it is very important that you think about your experience in light of those requirements.
Failure to include information regarding these requirements may result in you not being called forward to the next stage of the selection process.
Those successful at the ranking stage of this process (where applied) will be placed on an order of merit and will be called to interview in ‘bands’ depending on the service needs of the organisation.
Code of Practice / The Health Service Executive will run this campaign in compliance with the Code of Practice prepared by the Commission for Public Service Appointments (CPSA). The Code of Practice sets out how the core principles of probity, merit, equity and fairness might be applied on a principle basis. The Code also specifies the responsibilities placed on candidates, facilities for feedback to applicants on matters relating to their application when requested, and outlines procedures in relation to requests for a review of the recruitment and selection process and review in relation to allegations of a breach of the Code of Practice. Additional information on the HSE’s review process is available in the document posted with each vacancy entitled “Code of Practice, information for candidates”.
Codes of practice are published by the CPSA and are available on in the document posted with each vacancy entitled “Code of Practice, information for candidates” or on