Nutritional Support Nurse

Do you have a passion to drive excellent patient nutrition within our Trust?

Do you want to expand and enhance your knowledge within all areas of nutrition particularly regarding patients receiving Enteral and Parenteral Nutrition ?

A great opportunity has arisen as a secondment for 12 months ,Part time 15 hours per week, to work as a band 6 part time Nutritional Support Nurse as part of the Nutrition Team. You will be a key member working alongside our multi - professional Team to ensure our patients have the nutritional needs assessed and met in a timely manner. You will have the opportunity to work autonomously once you have gained competency within the job and undertake the following roles:

• Liaise with teams and ward staff to achieve best possible nutrition care for patients.
• Liaise daily with dietitians to discuss mutual patients.
• Assist with MUST auditing monthly.
• Review the ICE referral system and monitoring/ assessing for each patient referral.
• Practically care for all types of Enteral feeding tubes and teach patients with certain feeding tubes how to look after them before discharge.
• Ensure patients with new feeding tubes (eg PEG and PEG-J) are discharged home with the correct ancillaries.
• Work closely with PN dietitian and PN pharmacist to assess patients and ensure PN prescription is correctly written.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will be able to manage a case load of patients that require specialist nutritional input including both enteral and parenteral nutrition.

The post involves the assessment and support of patients referred for enteral or parenteral nutrition providing regular teaching for staff (Doctors, Nurses, HCA and Nurse Associates) in nutrition and hydration, enteral feeding, parenteral nutrition and Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST), supporting staff to manage these patients and working within the multidisciplinary team. Ensuring patient safety and adequate nutrition to patients is an integral part of this role.

About us

Northampton General Hospital is one of the largest employers in the area and we are on an exciting journey. All of our divisions are committed to doing things better, with more efficiency as we update, modernise, and advance. We have also entered into a Group Model with neighbouring Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and become University Hospitals of Northamptonshire.

Our Excellence Values

Compassion

Accountability

Respect

Integrity

Courage

We want to recruit the best people to deliver our services across the University Hospitals of Northamptonshire and help to unleash everyone's full potential. As an organisation, we value how we communicate and promote our vacancies to all communities.

The Hospital Group encourages applications from people who identify from all protected groups, especially those from BAME, Disabled and LGBTQ+ backgrounds as these are underrepresented in our hospitals.

We understand that we need to work with colleagues from diverse backgrounds and make sure the environment they work in is inclusive and collaborative.

We have active Networks that promote and support colleagues from all backgrounds.This ensures everyone feels supported and has a sense of belonging working for Kettering and Northampton General Hospitals.

Job description

Job responsibilities

ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The post holder will have a sound knowledge of nutritional support, experience in enteral feeding essential and experience with parenteral nutrition desirable.

Management:

• Ensure effective communication within the multi-disciplinary team and the wider organisation
• Support collaboration of teamwork and cooperation.
• Ability to work autonomously, using own initiative in problem solving.
• Attend Operation and Steering Group meetings

Professional Responsibilities:

• To be responsible for your continuing professional development and meeting revalidation requirements.
• To adhere to all approved Trust and NMC policies bearing in mind Trust directives and vicarious liability.
• To safeguard the confidentiality, integrity and availability of data whether in paper form or computerised.
• Maintain accurate record and data collection.
• To be responsible for the organisation and management of his/her care load.
• Attend outpatient consultant clinics as requested.
• Provide support and advice to patients receiving home parenteral/enteral nutrition including monitoring patient management of their feeding device.
• To work in collaboration and partnership with Dieticians
• Attend Parenteral Nutrition Ward Round with the Lead Consultant for Nutrition

Clinical:

• Work as part of the multi-disciplinary team, to ensure high quality nutritional care is provided from admission to a co-ordinated and safe discharge, in line with National Benchmarking Standards.
• Work collaboratively with members of the Nutrition Team in providing specialist knowledge to the multi-disciplinary team.
• Review individual patient cases and refer to other healthcare professionals when necessary.
• Ensure each patient is being assessed for malnutrition in accordance with the Trust MUST policy and providing support and teaching to staff when needed.
• Assist in monitoring the quality and delivery of nutritional care through ongoing audit of current nursing practice.
• Monitor referrals from Consultants requesting parenteral nutrition. Review patients and present to Nutrition Lead Consultant at twice weekly PN Round. Assist in coordinating a multidisciplinary approach in management of the patient in accordance with Trust Parental Nutrition policy.
• Provide advice, guidance and support to staff, relatives and patients within the Trust and community in all areas related to enteral/parenteral nutrition.
• Assist in developing evidence based policies/procedures/guidelines relevant to aspects of parenteral/enteral nutrition.
• Teach and support staff in all aspects of enteral and parenteral nutrition
• Network with Nutrition Nurse Specialists at other Trusts including the Specialist Unit

Educational:

• Responsible for providing education and training for all staff in aspects of enteral/parenteral nutrition within the ward environment, through study sessions, training days and link nurse system.
• Responsible for reviewing nutrition related competencies for all levels of nursing staff, in conjunction with practice development teams.
• Provide patient education and training in preparation for discharge with long term enteral feeding tubes.
• Participate in audit projects.

OTHER INFORMATION

• The post holder may be required to carry out other relevant duties as required.
• The post holder will adhere to the duties specified under the Staff Responsibilities of the NHS Constitution in their day to day work and behaviours.
• The post holder will be expected to aspire to the Values of the Trust in their day to day work and behaviours in order to support the Trust in achieving its Vision.
• The post holder will adhere to, at all times, any Professional, NHS Code of Conducts and legislation relevant for their area of work.
• The post holder will become familiar with, and adhere to, at all times, the policies and procedures of the Trust, and their area of work.
• The post holder will be expected to undertake training, including mandatory and role specific training, relevant to their role and ensure it is renewed as required.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Registered Nurse Level 1.
• Teaching and assessing qualification.
• Educated to Degree level or equivalent level of education, training or experience.

Desirable

• Clinical history taking/assessment.
• Non-medical prescriber course (Supplementary).
• Specialist short course.

Experience

Essential

• Experience assessing patients nutritional needs equivalent to degree level
• Knowledge of speciality enteral feeding routes
• Knowledge of caring for patients requiring parenteral nutrition
• Follow a patient clinical history assessment and plan treatment pathway according to assessment
• Follow and deliver training sessions with a variety of styles and resources
• Ability to work effectively in a team and autonomously.

Desirable

• Involvement with planning/developing patient pathway packages.
• Specialist knowledge and experience of practice development.
• Experience of caring for patients of speciality enteral feeding routes
• Experience of caring for patients requiring parenteral nutrition
• Experience to undertake patient clinical history assessment and plan treatment pathway according to assessment

Skills

Essential

• Computer literacy.
• Ability to manage difficult and stressful situations
• Time management and prioritisation
• Excellent interpersonal skills.
• Excellent communication abilities. Written and verbal.
• Ability to undertake clinical duties related to specialist nutrition

Desirable

• Advanced computer knowledge.
• Experience of data collection for audit

Personal Qualities

Essential

• Enthusiastic about professional development.
• Reliable, Assertive, confident and approachable
• Able to work flexibly according to service needs.
• Innovative and creative
• Diplomatic
• Professional
• Flexible
• Be available to undertake on call if required of the service
• Ability to work under pressure.
• Physical effort is required in the occasional moving and handling of patients
• Ability to cope with distressing incidents and give complex sensitive advice to patients.
• Ability to undertake clinical procedures in the scope of the specialism including administering intravenous medications

Employer details

Employer name

Northampton General Hospital

Address

Northampton General Hospital

Cliftonville Road

Northampton

NN1 5BD

Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.

265-5597070