The successful candidate will have the opportunity to become an integral part of the Neonatal Neurodevelopment Research team for 2 days a week over a 6-month period. They will learn essential skills in the recruitment, data collection, EEG acquisition, and administration of neonatal clinical trials. There will be the opportunity for the successful candidate to author a poster and publication, as well as present locally and nationally. This introduction to neonatal research may assist them in considering a research career and can be used as a springboard into considering continuing their clinical academic career through the HEE-NIHR Clinical and Practitioner Academic Programme or equivalent.

Main duties of the job

For more detail about the main duties of this role, please see the job description section below. As a key member of the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, you will be joining an exceptional team working together to help our patients to stay healthy, when they need it most.

About us

Stretching across Northern, Eastern and Mid Devon, we have a workforce of over 15,000 staff, making us the largest employer in Devon. Our core services, which we provide to more than 615,000 people, cover more than 2,000 square miles across Devon, while some of our specialist services cover the whole of the peninsula, extending our reach as far as Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

We deliver a wide range of emergency, specialist and general medical services through North Devon District Hospital and the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital (Wonford).

Alongside our two acute hospitals, we provide integrated health and social care services across a variety of settings, including community inpatient hospitals, outpatient clinics, and within peoples own homes. We also offer primary care services, a range of specialist community services, and Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARC).

Our state-of-the-art equipment, leading technologies and strong links to local universities put us at the forefront of research and innovations, enabling us to provide world-class care to our local communities.

Its never been a more exciting time to join the Royal Devon, as youll help to shape our services as we continue along our integration journey.

Job description

Job responsibilities

For more information on the Job Description and Responsibilities please click the link below.

More detail about the role

Pain management presents a major challenge in neonatal care and analgesic provision is infrequently and inconsistently provided during essential medical interventions. In part, this is due to difficulties in measuring pain and assessing the efficacy of analgesics in the non-verbal neonatal population. While numerous clinical tools have been developed to calculate pain scores in neonates, these measures are often reliant on behavioural and physiological observations that may not be sensitive or specific enough to distinguish pain from distress, or to be primary outcome measures in clinical trials that aim to objectively assess the efficacy of analgesic interventions.

An alternative approach has been to consider changes in brain activity using electroencephalography (EEG) evoked by noxious clinical procedures, and brain-derived approaches have been used to quantify how the infant brain responds to acute noxious medical procedures, such as heel lancing, venepuncture, and lumbar punctures.

This project will provide essential data into the reproducibility of brain-derived signals to assess analgesic efficacy in neonates and firmly place Exeters award-winning Neonatal Unit as a centre for neonatal neurodevelopmental research.

Working Pattern: 15 hours per week.

Interview Date: To be confirmed.

For further information please contact: Ravi Poorun, NIHR Clinical Lecturer in Paediatrics on r.poorun@exeter.ac.uk

This is a fixed term contract for 6 months. For current NHS employees this post could be a secondment opportunity.

Preference will be given to staff with Priority and 'At Risk' status including NHS At Risk staff throughout Devon.

The Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust reserves the right to close vacancy when sufficient applications have been received.

The Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust was established in April 2022, bringing together the expertise of both the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust and Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust.

Benefits

We will work together to maintain a culture that develops and supports you and your team.

This might include funding for a care certificate, a degree or leadership qualifications. Or it might include days off to study, engage in CPD or rotational placements to help you hone your skills. Wherever you are heading in the NHS, we'll help you get there.

Looking after you is important to us.

We strive to help our staff create a healthy work-life balance through flexible working schemes and our family friendly policies.

If you're starting out in the NHS, you'll start with 27 days paid annual leave (plus bank holidays), rising to 33 days plus bank holidays.

You'll benefit from access to our own comprehensive occupational health services, including counselling, onsite wellbeing activities and groups.

Salary is not the only financial benefit

You'll have access to an extensive range of staff discounts on shopping, fitness and leisure options and you can spread the cost of technology and home appliance purchases from major retailers.

You will also have access to other benefits including:

National discount services such as the Blue Light Card and Health Service Discounts.

Salary sacrifice options including our OFSTED rated outstanding nursery onsite at Exeter

Car lease schemes.

The NHS Pension scheme (one of the most generous and comprehensive in the UK).

Cycle to work scheme

These are just a few of the benefits available if the role is something you are interested in, we'd love to hear from you.

Person Specification

General Requirements

Essential

• See job description text above, and (where applicable) you can download a copy of the full job description

Desirable

• See job description text above, and (where applicable) you can download a copy of the full job description

Employer details

Employer name

Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Barrack Road

Exeter

Devon

EX2 5DW

Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.

185-22576-5317