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Trainee Advanced Practitioner – Ophthalmology

Employer
University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust
Location
Plymouth
Salary
Depending on experience Dependent on experience starting £43,742 - £50,056
Closing date
7 Jun 2023

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Profession
Other Health Profession
Grade
Band 7
Contract Type
Permanent
Hours
Full Time
An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced registered health professional to complete their Advanced Clinical Practitioner (ACP) apprenticeship in Ophthalmology. This will require the development of both academic and clinical mastery, including independent prescribing (where professionally appropriate).

You will be allocated a work based-clinical supervisor who will oversee the achievement of all core clinical competencies, as well as the unique competencies required within Ophthalmology. You will be required to complete all academic modules in order to progress from one year to the next. Supplementing these with additional professional certificates within Ophthalmic sub-specialities and practical in-house training.

Applications are invited from registered health professionals in Orthoptics and Optometry. Optometrists must have a Professional Certificate in Paediatric Eye Care or equivalent level 7 qualification in Paediatric Eye Care.

The successful applicants will be self-motivated with a desire to improve patient care , as well as leadership, education, and research skills. Commitment to completing this challenging programme is essential. In return you will be rewarded by a working experience rich in multi-disciplinary team respect, excellent support and supervision, and exemplary patient satisfaction feedback.

Main duties of the job

To successfully complete the Advanced Clinical Practitioner (ACP) Degree MSc (Level 7) programme in line with the trust framework for advanced practice and their primary professional regulatory body, with the expectation that on successful completion the post holder will move into a qualified ACP role at band 8a.

Advanced clinical practice is delivered by experienced, registered health and care practitioners. It is a level of practice characterised by a high degree of autonomy and complex decision making. This is underpinned by a master's level award or equivalent that encompasses the four pillars of clinical practice, leadership and management, education and research, with demonstration of core capabilities and area specific clinical competence.

As part of the ACP programme the post holder will be working towards the following and on successful completion will be able to:
  • Utilise advanced clinical reasoning skills and assessment techniques autonomously in the context of their speciality
  • Identify presenting problems and provide a diagnosis
  • Set appropriate treatment aims and objectives with the patient
  • Competently plan and implement realistic programmes of investigation and treatment

***Preference will be given to internal Trust staff, as well as 'Priority' and 'At Risk' status including NHS At Risk staff throughout Devon who are able to display recent relevant experience as dictated by the Person Specification.***

About us

We are a people business - where every member of staff matters and can make a difference. Patients are at the heart of everything we do. Joining University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust means becoming part of a team of dedicated staff, who are committed to leading the way through innovation, clinical excellence and great customer care. The Trust has great opportunities for career development in a highly progressive working environment. We offer all of this in a vibrant, modern city with a historic reputation for adventure. PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL COMMUNICATION WILL BE ELECTRONIC, PLEASE CHECK YOUR EMAIL ACCOUNT REGULARLY. If you have any issues with applying online and need additional support including reasonable adjustments with the application process please contact the recruitment team on 01752 432100. We recognise that work life balance is important for our colleagues and so we invite requests from applicants around less than full time/flexible working for our advertised roles. Please contact the recruiting manager to discuss this prior to your application submission. We commit to giving this full consideration in each case. We encourage people from diverse backgrounds to apply for our roles, as diversity strengthens our teams. It is sometimes necessary to close vacancies before the closing date. If you have not heard from us within 4 weeks of the closing date, please assume that you have not been shortlisted.

Job description

Job responsibilities

  • Assess, differentially diagnose, plan, implement and evaluate individual treatment interventions for patients by virtue of expert clinical judgement and close liaison with members of the MDT.
  • Use expertise and decision-making skills to inform clinical reasoning approaches when dealing with differentiated and undifferentiated individual presentations and complex situations, synthesising information from multiple sources to make appropriate, evidence-based judgements and/or diagnoses.
  • Initiate, evaluate and modify a range of interventions which may include prescribing medicines, therapies, life style advice and care and ordering appropriate investigations.
  • Exercise professional judgement to manage risk appropriately, especially where there may be complex and unpredictable events and supporting teams to do likewise to ensure safety of individuals, families and carers.
  • Ensure compliance with their respective code of professional conduct and work within their scope of practice.
  • Works in conjunction with the MDT to clearly define values, direction and policies impacting upon care.
  • Work in partnership with individuals, families and carers, using a range of assessment methods as appropriate
  • Be able to demonstrate a critical understanding of their broadened level of responsibility and autonomy. This includes being critically aware of their limits of their own competence and professional scope of practice, including when working with complexity, risk, uncertainty and incomplete information.
  • Be responsible and accountable for their decisions, actions and omissions at this level of practice.
  • Utilise professional judgement and maturity, understanding when to seek help.
  • Demonstrate critical reflection on own practice, self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and openness to change.
  • Demonstrate effective communication skills, supporting people in making decisions, planning care or seeking to make positive changes, using Health Education Englands framework to promote person-centred approaches in health and care
  • Work collaboratively with an appropriate range of multi-agency and inter-professional resources, developing, maintaining and evaluating links to manage risk and issues across organisations and settings.
  • Evidence the underpinning subject-specific competencies i.e. knowledge, skills and behaviours relevant to the role setting and scope, and demonstrate application of the capabilities to these, in an approach that is appropriate to the individual role, setting and scope.
  • Act as a clinical role model/advocate for developing and delivering care that is responsive to changing requirements, informed by an understanding of local population health needs, agencies and networks.
  • Actively implement effective systems and processes for infection control management whilst working clinically and be a role model forother members of the clinical team.
  • Initiate drug therapy/medication within the parameters of agreed clinical guidelines and in accordance with the legal framework you work under to supply and prescribe medicines (if from professional group legally entitled to prescribe).

  • Leadership and Management
  • Role model the trust values, demonstrating a person-centred approach to service delivery and development.
  • Lead new practice and service redesign solutions in response to feedback, evaluation and need, working across boundaries and broadening sphere of influence.
  • Critically apply advanced clinical expertise to influence clinical practice to enhance quality, reduce unwarranted variation and promote the sharing and adoption of best practice.
  • Evaluate their own practice, and participate in multi-disciplinary service and team evaluation, demonstrating the impact of advanced clinical practice on service function and effectiveness, and quality
  • Continually develop practice in response to changing population health need, engaging in horizon scanning for future developments
  • Pro-actively initiate and develop effective relationships, fostering clarity of roles within teams, to encourage productive working.
  • Actively engage in peer review to inform own and others practice, formulating and implementing strategies to act on learning and make improvements.
  • Actively seek feedback and involvement from individuals, families, carers, communities and colleagues in the co-production of service improvements.
  • Demonstrate team leadership, resilience and determination, managing situations that are unfamiliar, complex or unpredictable and seeking to build confidence in others.
  • Demonstrate receptiveness to challenge and preparedness to constructively challenge others, escalating concerns that affect individuals, families, carers, communities and colleagues safety and well-being when necessary.
  • Negotiate an individual scope of practice within legal, ethical, professional and organisational policies, governance and procedures, with a focus on managing risk and upholding safety.
  • With the support of the Leadership teams, makes representation as appropriate at various meetings, providing feedback to the organisation on clinical and professional issues which have an impact on care and standards of practice within their sphere of responsibility.
  • Participate in business planning and the development of financial bids for service development.
  • Discuss patient and relatives' experiences with them in order to prevent complaints from developing and to assist the management team in investigating and responding to complaints when they arise.
  • Participates in the investigation of clinical incidents and serious incidents. Leads and facilitates others to share lessons learned adapt systems and processes accordingly.
  • Support team members from a managerial perspective including direct line manger responsibilities, such as sickness management, appraisals and conduct management.
  • Contribute to the management of the specialist service by providing quarterly and annual reports

  • Education
  • Develop a culture of organisational learning to inspire future and existing staff.
  • Act as a role model, educator, supervisor, coach and mentor, seeking to instill and develop the confidence of others.
  • Responsively lead on driving an education agenda which facilitates the learning of the wider workforce, especially when key areas of growth are identified.
  • Engage in self-directed learning, critically reflecting to maximise clinical skills and knowledge, as well as own potential to lead and develop both care and services.
  • Critically assess and address own learning needs, negotiating a personal development plan that reflects the breadth of ongoing professional development across the four pillars of advanced clinical practice.
  • Facilitate collaboration of the wider team and support peer review processes to identify individual and team learning.
  • Identify further developmental needs for the individual and the wider team and supporting them to address these.
  • Supporting the wider team to build capacity and capability through work-based and inter- professional learning, and the application of learning to practice
  • Engage with, appraise and respond to individuals motivation, development stage and capacity, working collaboratively to support health literacy and empower individuals to participate in decisions about their care and to maximise their health and well-being.
  • Attend relevant clinical/ professional meetings, seminars and conferences

  • Research
  • Develop a knowledge rich enquiry culture where research values are promoted and encouraged
  • Evaluate and audit own and others clinical practice, selecting and applying valid, reliable methods, then acting on the findings.
  • Develop and implement robust governance systems and systematic documentation processes, keeping the need for modifications under critical review.
  • Facilitate collaborative links between clinical practice and research through proactive engagement, networking with academic, clinical and other active researchers
  • Critically appraise and synthesise the outcome of relevant research, evaluation and audit, using the results to underpin own practice and to inform that of others.
  • Take a critical approach to identify gaps in the evidence base and its application to practice, alerting appropriate individuals and organisations to these and how they might be addressed in a safe and pragmatic way.
  • Critically engage in research activity, adhering to good research practice guidance, so that evidence based strategies are developed and applied to enhance quality, safety, productivity and value for money.
  • Actively identify potential need for further research to strengthen evidence for best practice. This may involve acting as an educator, leader, innovator and contributor to research activity and/or seeking out and applying for research funding.
  • Disseminate best practice research findings and quality improvement projects.
  • Participates in research within scope of professional practice, to include active participation in research and audit projects
  • Use audit skills to enable the specialist team and other health professionals to improve quality of care by undertaking audits of clinical practice and supporting the implementation of the findings/recommendations


  • Person Specification

    Knowledge and experience

    Essential

    • Significant demonstrable e
      Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.

      216-SF-S5285154

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