JOB DESCRIPTION

Job Title: Staff Nurse In-Patient Unit - LMT Band 5

Accountable to: Director of Nursing and Patient Services, Lewis-Manning Trust

Reporting to: Day Hospice and In-Patient Unit Team Leader

Job Context: Lewis-Manning Hospice, already well known locally as a centre offering excellent palliative care to local people living with cancer and other life-limiting illnesses and their carers, has recently opened nurse-led beds for end of life care for patients in the East of Dorset.

Working flexibly, as part of a multidisciplinary team, the staff nurse is a key role in offering high quality care both in the bedded unit and daycare if required.

Job Purpose:

  • Work as a registered nurse, providing a high quality palliative care to patients and their families in the in-patient and daycare unit as required.
  • As a member of the multidisciplinary team, offer holistic, high quality care: assess, plan, implement and evaluate care for patients and families.
  • Act as a role model.
  • Actively participate in clinical governance.

Responsible for: Supervision of junior staff/students

Scope and Limits of Authority:

  • Responsible and accountable for planning, implementing and evaluating physical, social, psychological, emotional and spiritual care for the patient/carer on a day-to-day basis; referring to the nurse in charge as and when required.
  • Required to contribute to the supervision of junior/new members of staff in conjunction with the sister.
  • Has no direct budget responsibility but must be aware of cost implications and make effective use of resources

Duties and Responsibilities

  1. Clinical
  2. Assess the needs and agree a plan of care with the patient, evaluating progress to ensure the care remains appropriate and facilitate colleagues in these processes
  3. Deliver care as planned and in keeping with the needs and wishes of patients and their families
  4. Understand and analyse patient clinical observations and records, taking or instigating appropriate action as necessary
  5. To provide appropriate information for patients and their families, which is relevant, accurate and timely and helps them to make informed decisions
  6. To assist with the care of patients’ property and valuables
  7. Be responsible for ensuring adequate and accurate patient documentation and records are maintained in accordance with NMC guidelines and LMT policy
  8. Take open access calls from patients and carers referring on to the Registered Nurse in Charge/Doctor on call and/or providing advice as appropriate
  9. Facilitate effective discharge planning in conjunction with the inter-professional team
  10. Undertake admissions and discharges, ensuring policies, procedures and standards are applied
  11. Manage care for a group of patients, as allocated
  12. Be responsible for the safe handling and administration of drugs and the accurate recording of data relating to this in accordance with NMC and national guidelines and LMT Policy & Procedures
  13. Promote good working relationships and collaborative working with the inter-professional team, both within the Unit and the rest of Lewis-Manning Trust
  14. Contribute to the audit of standards and participate in generating ideas for improvements to raise the quality of care for patient and their families
  15. Participate in daily Clinical report sessions
  16. Use research/evidence-based practice to ensure high quality, cost-effective care
  17. Contribute to the further development of services for patients and their carers, which is needs-led and evidence-based
  18. Be familiar with the LMT clinical policies and procedures and work within these
  19. To maintain a high standard of personal cleanliness in general and hand hygiene in particular. To abide by the relevant policy and procedures
  20. Be involved in the care of the dying/deceased patient and their families and carers. This will encompass the physical, psychological and spiritual aspects of the dying patients’ care and when the patient has actually died
  21. Provide bereavement support as required
  1. Management
  2. Supervise and mentor students, junior registered and unqualified staff
  3. Line manage HCAs as required including 6/52 1:1s
  4. Assist in the management and organisation of work as required
  5. Manage a shift in the absence of the Team Leader, planning and allocating tasks and care as appropriate.
  6. Deploy and support of volunteers working in the clinical areas
  7. Be familiar with the policies and procedures at LMT and to work within these
  8. Comply with the Health and Safety at Work Act and LMT Policies and Procedures
  9. Offer informal support to staff and volunteers concerning education and advice with palliative care issues
  10. Attend 6 weekly 1:1 with line manager
  1. Teaching and Training
  2. Take part in the education programmes for LMT, both professional and volunteer
  3. Assist in developing and maintaining a suitable and stimulating learning environment for students, and for the ongoing professional development of registered staff
  4. Provide feedback to members of clinical team from education sessions
  5. Provide specialist advice and guidance to students and other visitors to LMT
  6. Attend and take part in in-house and external training including fire lectures as part of own professional development, when agreed appropriate by your line manager (this may entail travel)
  7. Attend mandatory and CPR training annually
  1. Professional
  2. Maintain own NMC registration
  3. Act within the NMC Code and maintain professional and personal development
  4. Prepare for NMC revalidation from April 2016
  5. Use specialist knowledge in order to participate in innovation and development of LMT as a centre of excellence
  6. Participate in audits as agreed with the Team Leader
  7. Attend internal and external meetings/events as required, e.g. Infection Control Commmittee, MDT Meetings

This is an outline job description and may be subject to change, according to the needs of the service, in consultation with the post holder. A job description review will automatically take place as part of the Annual Appraisal.

Name (Please print): / Signature: / Date:
Ruth Burnhill, Interim Director of Nursing
October 2017
Review October 2018

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Post: Staff Nurse In-Patient Unit – Band 5

Department: Day Hospice and In-Patient Unit

Category / Essential / Desirable
Qualifications and Training /
  • First Level RN Qualification with 2 years experience
/
  • Previous palliative care experience
  • Mentorship/preceptorship course

Knowledge and Experience /
  • Experience in communicating with relatives
  • Experience of terminally ill and dying patients & caring for their families
  • Awareness of Gold Standards Framework and Mental Capacity Act
  • Experience of supervising other staff and students
  • Basic knowledge of terminal illness/palliative care
  • Basic knowledge of symptom control
/
  • Oncology experience
  • Knowledge of Palliative Care Ethics
  • Knowledge of Analgesics

Skills,and Aptitudes /
  • Effective communication skills
  • Ability to work in a team
  • Ability to assess and plan care of patients
  • Ability to work in a potentially stressful environment
  • Ability to judge when decisions need to be escalated to a senior colleague
/
  • Ability to provide advice to other healthcare professionals
  • Advanced Communication Skills Training course
  • Advance Care Planning Training

Personal Attributes /
  • To have professional disposition
  • To be willing to be a Resource Nurse in a specific area of interest eg tissue viability
  • To identify own personal development needs
  • Able to organise time and manage change

Other relevant requirements /
  • Able to take charge of in-patient unit for a full shift
  • Willing to undertake internal rotation and shift work
  • Willing to be a Clinical Assessor
  • Awareness of NMC revalidation process from April 2016
  • Responsibility to maintain own NMC registration and associated processes