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Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Main tasks and responsibilities:

Patient/Clinical Care:

1. To manage your clinical caseload with autonomy, guided by policies, procedures, codes of practice and departmental working practices. 
2. To undertake a comprehensive assessment of patients including those with a complex presentation, using investigative and advanced analytical skills and clinical reasoning.
3. Using developed knowledge and experience to make a therapeutic diagnosis of a patient’s condition and interpret clinical findings and documentation to formulate a comprehensive specialised programme of care, including decision making about the most appropriate treatment options. This may be for patients with a wide range of diagnoses and problems and will need regular updating to ensure to ensure optimum therapeutic outcome.  For example, where self-referral occurs, clinical diagnosis is made, and a programme of care is developed.
4. To supervise less experienced staff and students in the provision of patient care.
5. To provide planned and spontaneous advice to patients/clients, junior staff, staff of other disciplines, formal and informal carers, and relatives
6.  To have highly developed physical skills for the treatment of patients.  This may involve the use of specialist equipment, materials, and tools, for example for splinting, computers, equipment for activities of daily living.
7. To be responsible for maintaining and managing accurate and comprehensive treatment records in line with professional and local standards.
8. To frequently exert physical effort in cramped conditions and sustained postures for periods of up to 40 minutes several times a day.  This would include moving patients as part of their treatment or moving equipment.
9. With every patient, concentration is required to listen, observe, evaluate, document, plan and act on information gathered. 
10. To deal with distressing or emotional situations, such as dealing with patients and families who are distressed due to acute or a terminal illness, those who are elderly, those with special needs and those experiencing prolonged ongoing deterioration.
11. To have daily contact with patients’ bodily fluids, odours, dust, etc.
12. To participate in weekend working and extended hours as part of the service rota.
13. To fully implement the trust policies around infection control in order to protect patients.
14. To understand the requirement to contribute to the safeguarding agenda.

Management Responsibilities:

1.      To be involved in the daily management of workload allocation within the specialist area.

2.      To play a key role in the coordination of activities with other agencies, such as discharge planning and case management.

3.      To participate in the development of improvements to service delivery through participation in the evaluation of clinical practice through evidence-based projects, audit and outcome measures, and attendance at local and national meetings.

4.      To be responsible for the day-to-day safe and competent use of equipment, which may be of high value, used by patients and staff in the area of work. To be continuously aware of financial consequences of actions.

5.      To be involved in the development of policies and procedures relevant to the area of work, which may impact into other disciplines.  To occasionally participate in working parties proposing policy changes across the trust or partner organisations.

Communication and relationships:

1.      To communicate effectively with patients and carers/relatives to progress specific rehabilitation and treatment programmes.  This would include providing and receiving complex information, using a range of verbal and non-verbal communication skills, particularly persuading/influencing – to ensure compliance with treatment.  This will include patients who have difficulties in understanding or communicating, e.g. patients who may be dysphasic, depressed, visually impaired, hard of hearing, or may be unable to accept their diagnosis.

2.      To communicate with a range of professionals both within the trust and in external agencies, including primary care, social service, voluntary organisations, and others.

3.      To make presentations to groups and individuals both internal and external to the organisation.

4.      To be involved in the management and support of patients and relatives who may be upset or angry within your caseload, or the caseload of other less experienced staff.

5.      To regularly provide training to own discipline, multiple disciplines/other professionals, and students.

Governance:

1.      To work within the standards of professional practise as described by professional body.  To be responsible for maintaining own competency to practise through postgraduate training and CPD in the specialist area/field.

2.      To access guidance (including clinical, peer and managerial) as required, from colleagues within the organisation or from other expert agencies.

3.      To record and store patient related information in computerised and paper-based systems.

4.      When working in the community or domiciliary settings to work as a lone practitioner within the lone worker policy guidelines.

5.      To participate in the design of multi-disciplinary audit and take an active part in research projects at a local, regional, or national level.

6.      To maintain and develop specialist knowledge of evidence-based practise in the area of work.

7.      To be actively involved in improvements to service delivery, e.g. evaluation of clinical practise, evidence-based projects, audit, outcome measure, and representation at local meetings and attendance at national meetings.

8.      To undertake staff appraisals as appropriate.