job description - our lady's...

JOB DESCRIPTION & PERSON SPECIFICATIONBased in Harold’s CrossAdvanced Nurse Practitioner (candidate)Indefinite Duration – 1.0WTE

JOB DESCRIPTION

TITLE: Advanced Nurse Practitioner (candidate) in Specialist Palliative Care (SPC)

REPORTING TO: Assistant Director of Nursing

RESPONSIBLE TO: Director of Nursing

SALARY SCALE: As per Department of Health & Children

HOLIDAYS: 25 - 28 days per annum pro rata

HEALTH: A candidate for and any person holding the office must be free from any defect or disease which would render him/her unsuitable to hold the office and be in a state of health as would indicate a reasonable prospect of ability to attend regular and efficient service.

CHARACTER: A candidate for and any person holding the office must be of good character.

HOURS OF WORK: 39 hours per week. This post has comprises of day and night duty rotation over a 7 day week. Details of starting and finishing times, which may vary in accordance with Hospice needs, will be notified to you by your Head of Department/Deputy. There will be times when you will be required to work outside of the normal hours of duty.

WORKING WEEK: Day/Night Duty rotation over a 7 day week.

ETHICAL CODE: The post holder is requested to respect the special charism, ethos and tradition of Our Lady’s Hospice and Care Services and to observe and comply with its general policies, procedures and regulations.

CONFIDENTIALITY: You will have access to various types of records/information in the course of your work. Such records and information are strictly confidential and unless acting on the instruction of an authorised person, on no account must information concerning staff, patients or other Hospital business be divulged or discussed except in the performance of normal duty. In addition, records may never be left in such a manner that unauthorised persons can obtain access to them and must be kept in safe custody when no longer required.

JOB PURPOSE The post holder will provide safe, timely, evidenced based nurse-led care to patients at an advanced specialist palliative care nursing level. This involves undertaking and documenting a complete episode of patient care (assess, diagnose, plan, treat and discharge patients) according to collaboratively agreed protocols and scope of practice in the clinical setting; demonstrating advanced clinical and theoretical knowledge, critical thinking and decision making skills.

Job Description & Person Specification – ANP (candidate)

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Main Duties and Responsibilities

Collaboratively agree a defined scope of practice with the Assistant Director of Nursing NB: The scope of the role must reflect the evolvement of the post, and as such the ANP cannot operate as a fully autonomous practitioner until registered as an ANP

The role content should be defined within a framework of SPC nursing and areas of responsibility, levels of authority and channels of accountability will be clearly defined.

Operate within clinical governance structures within and outside the organisation that support advanced nursing practice in Specialist Palliative Care.

Develop /review collaboratively agreed clinical decision making frameworks/ protocols /referral pathways to support nurse led delivery of care to the defined patient caseload for the entire episode of care.

Develop the core clinical skills and competencies to become an autonomous practitioner skilled in the delivery of quality direct care to a specific patient/client group through consultant supervision and record these in his/her portfolio.

Develop the specialist competencies relevant to the defined scope of practice and caseload. Through consultant supervision and record these in his/her portfolio.

Develop a professional portfolio which meets the standard expected for registration as an ANP for submission to the NMBI following ratification of the post in development.

Develop expert knowledge and skills in all aspects of patient assessment, risk stratification and management of the patient cohort for whom the post is being developed.

Develop practical and theoretical knowledge and critical thinking to a level that will be seen as exemplary amongst peers and will be recognised and acknowledged as an authority in the specialist palliative care area of nursing.

Develop close links with all members of the multidisciplinary team to ensure that a safe quality driven evidence based service is being delivered to all patients within their caseload.

Develop excellent skills in undertaking and documenting a complete episode of patient care in an accurate, timely and complete manner (assess, diagnose, treat and discharge).

Develop the ability to accept accountability and responsibility for clinical decision making at advanced practice level by managing a caseload under clinical supervision.

Develop expert clinical skills in the diagnosis and treatment of patients within a collaboratively agreed scope of practice framework alongside other healthcare professionals.

Undertake supervised clinical practice at an advanced level in the specialist area of practice.

Develop the ability to use professional judgement, clinical reasoning and decision making processes to refer patients/clients to other health care professionals as required.

Participate in the future development of integrated care pathways where appropriate, utilising evidence-based practice guidelines.

Achieve clinical competence through engagement in education, clinical supervision and peer review on an on-going basis.


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Expert Practitioner Duties

Articulate and rationalise the concept of advanced nursing practice within the framework of relevant laws, rules and guidelines that govern nursing practice including, but not exclusively, The Scope of Nursing and Midwifery Practice Framework (An Bord Altranais, 2000), The Code of Professional Conduct (An Bord Altranais, 2000) Guidelines for Midwives (An Bord Altranais 2000), The Nurses Act (Government of Ireland 2011)

Be identified in the clinical setting as an autonomous practitioner and role model demonstrating an expert level of professional competency in the area of Palliative Care.

Develop a means of improving practice through exploring practice issues with team members, development of practice protocols and research and audit initiatives.

Develop skills in order to function in a variety of roles including clinical and consultative, clinical practice development, teacher, coach, manager and researcher.

Demonstrate advanced practical and theoretical knowledge and critical thinking and decision making skills to manage a patient/client caseload. Including comprehensive patient assessments which will involve: o A focused history of presenting illnesso Additional health history and risk stratification according to the specialist fieldo Advanced physical examinationo Ordering, undertaking and interpreting tests as per agreed scope of practice

Planning and managing care with an holistic focus, encouraging the patient and family to be involved in care.

Identify health promotion priorities and opportunities in the area of clinical practice. Deliver person centered care and advocate a health promotion and quality of life ethos Evaluate care given through patient engagement surveys, major incident follow up,

audits of compliance with relevant policies, procedures protocols and guidelines. Implement health promotion strategies for patient/client group in accordance with the

public health agenda. Implement patient safety strategies in line with organisation and national patient safety

agenda. To assess service demand and capacity and plan accordingly.

Professional and Clinical Leadership

Articulate and communicate a vision of nursing practice for the specialist area that can be developed beyond the current scope of practice and demonstrate a commitment to the development of such areas.

Integrate patient assessment, diagnosis, plan of care treatment and discharge with the organisation’s nursing philosophy and model.

Develop good communication skills, verbal, written and listening. Develop appropriate nursing documentation to meet the needs of the new service with

input from the multidisciplinary team. Maintain confidentiality of patient records. Manage the integration of the ANP role into the multidisciplinary team and the effect of

the new role on the work of other healthcare professionals. Promote an understanding of the role of the Advanced Nurse Practitioner and increase

the awareness of nurses and other grades of the scope of practice of the ANP. Provide professional leadership, strategic direction, expert advice and support to the

clinical teams.


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Identify areas of Specialist Palliative Care management that require development and demonstrate a commitment to such development.

Develop the nurse led service in line with changing service ad healthcare needs. Ensure that any expansion of services is justified through exploration of service need,

patient demand and resource allocation. Contribute to professional development in nursing and health policy development at

local, regional and national level. Develop the skills to actively engage in leading and managing change in the delivery of

health care services according to patient/client need and service demand. Develop skills to participate in service planning and budgeting. Develop skills to procure and effectively manage resources required for service provision

and development. Develop skills to provide leadership in clinical practice and to act as a role model of

advanced nursing practice for all nursing staff and the multidisciplinary team. Demonstrate the ability to act as a mentor and preceptor in order to facilitate the

education and professional development of all nursing grades and other healthcare professionals.

Participate in facilitating learning and education of nurses (both undergraduate and post-graduate levels) and other health professionals in the clinical area. Teaching in the classroom and in the clinical area as well as presenting at conferences, seminars and workshops to enhance the advanced nursing role.

Deliver and/or participate in in-service training, orientation and nurse training programmes as required.

Share a vision of clinical practice with key stakeholders, communication with, valuing and enabling their contribution to care.

Engage in a forum which evaluates quality and standards in clinical practice-develop the ability to lead in the promotion of clinical standards.

Assess and evaluate patients’/clients’ experience /satisfaction with the service; analyse and utilise the findings to improve patient safety and quality of care.

Contribute to the service plan by producing an annual working report, outlining the level of current service provided, the achievements and challenges of the service and a future plan for the service.

Contribute to the professional body of nursing knowledge and practice nationally and internationally by developing writing, publishing and presentation skills.

Recognise limitations in scope of practice and address theoretical and practice gaps through continuing education, consultation with colleagues and consultant.

Work to achieve excellence through continuously improving the standard and quality and safety of nursing care.

Help to lead quality and safety improvement, risk management and standard setting projects in conjunction with clinical governance.

Ensure that effective safety procedures are in place to comply with Health & Safety Guidelines and Welfare at Work Act.


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Research Duties

Identify research priorities specific to area of clinical practice and the scope of practice/caseload.

Participate in and collaborate with the multidisciplinary team in undertaking research. Develop skills to lead and engage in the review of accidents, incidents and near misses in

specialist area. Undertake analysis as appropriate and furnish reports on same. Lead, conduct, disseminate and publish nursing research to shape and advance nursing

practice, education and policy and the wider health agenda. Identify, critically analyse disseminate nursing and other evidence into clinical practice. Promote an ethos so evidenced based practice through accessing and disseminating

current speciality specific and profession specific publications. Initiate, participate in and evaluate audit of the client caseload and other relevant areas. Utilise the outcome of audit to improve service provision or initiate a change in practice. Initiate and foster links with third level education institutions and other organisations in

relation to research. Contribute to service planning and budgetary processes through use of data and

specialist knowledge Develop data collecting systems that will inform and evaluate the service provided by

the Advanced Nurse Practitioner.

Health and Safety

To maintain a safe work environment in co-operation with the Hospice Management Team and with reference to the Health, Safety and Welfare at Work Act, 2007.

To be familiar with Hospice policies, practices and procedures including the Organisation’s Safety Statement.

To instruct assigned staff in safe working practices as appropriate. To work in a safe manner with due care and attention to safety of self and other

authorised persons in the workplace. To report accidents or incidents involving patients, staff members or the public to

Director of Nursing/Human Resource Department as appropriate.

General

To adhere to Departmental and Hospice policies at all times. To perform such other duties appropriate to the post as may be assigned from time to

time by the Manager or a nominee. To ensure confidentiality in all matters of information obtained during the course of

employment.

P rofessional

To ensure confidentiality on all matters and information obtained during the course of employment.

To have a working knowledge of Our Lady’s Hospice & Care Services policies. To present and act in a professional manner at all times and ensure colleagues do

likewise.

Garda Vetting


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Arrangements have been introduced, on a national level, for the provision of Garda Vetting in respect of candidates for employment in areas of the Health Services, where it is envisaged that potential employees would have substantial access to children or vulnerable individuals. Each candidate will be required to complete a Garda Vetting form.

The post holder may be required to perform other duties as appropriate to the post, which may be assigned to him/her from time to time, and to contribute to the development of the post while in office. This job description will be subject to review in the light of changing circumstances. It is not intended to be exhaustive but should be regarded as providing guidelines within which individuals work


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PERSON SPECIFICATION

Criteria Essential Desirable

Qualifications Registered on the Live

Register in the General Division of the Register of Nurses as maintained by Nursing Midwifery Board Ireland (NMBI)

Be educated to master’s degree (level 9 National Qualifications Authority of Ireland) or higher in Specialist Palliative Care.

Experience Have a minimum of

seven years post-registration experience, which will include five years’ experience in Specialist Palliative Care.

Have substantive hours of supervised practice at an advanced level of Specialist Palliative Care delivery.

Have the competence to exercise higher levels of judgement, discretion and decision-making in Specialist Palliative Care.

Evidence of consistent updating of clinical skills and knowledge.

Competent IT skills - Word, Excel, Power Point and e-mail.


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Core Competencies Essential Desirable

Knowledge & Skills High level of English and numeracy skills.

Competent and confident IT skills - Word, Excel, Power Point and e-mail.

Knowledge of an Bord Altranais directives

Demonstrate high level of clinical knowledge & competencies

Demonstrate promotion of evidence-based decision making

Demonstrate practitioner competence and professionalism

Demonstrate a commitment to continuing professional development

Demonstrate the ability to relate nursing research to nursing practice

Demonstrate knowledge of quality assurance practices and their application to nursing procedures

Demonstrate an awareness of current and emerging nursing strategies and policies in relation to the clinical / designated area e.g. person centred care concept.

Demonstrate an ability to work within a regulated environment

Demonstrate a knowledge of and an ability to ensure infection control and hygiene standards are adhered to

Demonstrate an awareness of the Health Service Transformation Programme

Ability to collect and report on data

Ability to work under pressure

Knowledge of principles and practices of palliative care/rheumatology or gerontology.

Evidence of interest in management

Knowledge on use of SAP HR and salaries system


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Management Influencing Skills Proven managerial,

decision-making skills Resourceful and

Proactive Demonstrate an ability to

work in a changing environment.

Show a logical and analytical approach to problem solving

Demonstrate the ability to lead on clinical practice and service quality

Demonstrate the ability to plan & organise effectively

Demonstrate the ability to build, lead and manage a team

Demonstrate strong interpersonal skills including the ability to build and maintain relationships

Demonstrate an ability to monitor individual staff’s progress and an ability to coach staff members to develop their skills.

Demonstrate initiative and innovation in the delivery of service

Demonstrate an awareness of HR policies and procedures including disciplinary procedures, managing attendance etc.

Ability to issue appropriate instructions.

Scope of Practice/Professional Development

Adhere to a professional code of practice

Understands the need to apply hospice and/or professional standards, policies and procedures to their area of practice

Good organisational and self-management skills

Demonstrate ability to be a reflective practitioner

Demonstrate evidence of continuing professional development at an


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appropriate level Demonstrate willingness

for continued self-development in a professional capacity.

Communication Skills Excellent interpersonal and communication skills

Clearly and confidently articulates ideas and opinions and their underlying rationale

Draws on a variety of communication methods to fit situation/ circumstances.

Listens openly, using questions to check for understanding/avoid misinterpretation

Adapt a professional approach at all times.

Quality Service Is patient/resident centred at all times.

Is flexible/adaptable to meet unexpected demands

Ability to act as an advocate for nursing/residents/patients

Team Player Is tolerant of diverse values and beliefs

Considers how one’s behaviour might impact others.

Knows when and where to ask for help.

Confident and friendly manner with patients/residents and staff

Display awareness of confidentiality issues.

Display awareness of patient/resident advocacy issues.

Display eagerness to learn more on speciality.

Express interest in

career development.


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Core Values Demonstrate a knowledge of the ethos & core values of Our Lady’s Hospice and Care Services.


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