Advanced Neonatal Nurse Practitioner

Job responsibilities

Clinical responsibilities

• Have specialist knowledge of neonates gained through an ANNP training programme at masters level and significant experience gained in a neonatal unit.
• Provide expert clinical care for babies on the unit at LWH, Alder Hey neonatal surgical unit and as part of Connect North West Neonatal transport service following appropriate training and competency assessment.
• Exhibit a strong patient and family focus in your practice; applying the principles of patient and family-centred and family integrated care and shared decision making with neonates, infants, families and carers. Act as a liaison between parents and health care professionals and gain informed consent for relevant procedures where necessary
• Attend high risk deliveries and take the lead for the resuscitation, stabilisation and safe transfer of babies using advanced resuscitation and life support techniques.
• Respond to neonatal emergency situations within agreed protocols, initiate appropriate intervention and treatment.
• Undertake independent prescribing and evaluate the effects of drug therapies, working within trust non-medical prescribing policies and guidelines.
• Maintain effective communication with parents / families about clinical decisions and plans of care, involving them in decision making and promoting a family centred approach to care.
• Provide counselling and support parents who babies are receiving intensive care. Teach and advise parents and carers in relation to their babys condition
• Contribute to antenatal discussions when abnormality of pregnancy identified.
• Collaborate with members of the multidisciplinary team undertaking a key role in assessment, planning, implementing and evaluating total care of the sick and well neonate in accordance with local policies and protocols.
• Communicating on an ongoing basis with the consultant neonatologists, surgeons, registrars, and other specialist teams responsible for the patient, updating him/her on changes and progress.
• Attend the ward round with members of the multidisciplinary team and contribute to the clinical management of individual patients utilising nursing / medical knowledge and skills to plan , implement and initiate changes where required. This will include monitoring and evaluating the response to treatment through analysis and interpretation of diagnostic interventions
• Participate in the National Immunisation Programme and neonatal audiology and retinopathy screening/surveillance within the department.
• Make and receive referrals to and from the collaborative care team.

Extended Practice List

• Insertion of endotracheal tubes.
• Initiation and management of all forms of mechanical ventilation
• Surfactant administration
• Venepuncture and capillary blood sampling
• Peripheral and umbilical venous cannulation
• Peripheral and umbilical arterial cannulation
• Percutaneous arterial sampling
• Insertion of percutaneous central venous lines
• Withdrawal of blood from in-dwelling arterial and venous lines
• Supra-pubic aspiration of the bladder
• Lumbar puncture
• Newborn examination
• Insertion of chest drains and needle aspiration
• Plasma dilution/exchange transfusion
• Removal of ETTs, PCVLs, UAC/UVCs and chest drains
• Can undertake other areas of extended practice, where its felt appropriate for the advancement of the service in order to deliver an improved quality service ( eg cranial US Scanning).

Management and Leadership

As a senior clinical figure in our organisation, you will be a role model for advanced clinical practice across all 4 pillars of practice. You will demonstrate this by :

• Operationalising the values and vision of the organisation and working towards these as a fundamental component of your role.
• Liaise with senior nursing and midwifery shift coordinators on the neonatal unit and delivery suite to ensure babies receive appropriate care in the appropriate place.
• Develop strong working relationships with operational support staff and give clinical guidance to benefit patient care.
• Provide the highest standard of clinical and professional leadership and management to a multidisciplinary team working shift patterns which complementing the other medical staff rotas undertaking identified shifts / sessions accordingly.
• Accept constructive challenges and look for opportunities to improve service at individual-patient, patient-cohort and organisational levels. You will also have a role in engaging beyond your organisation in clinical networks where these exist.
• Participate in service evaluation against quality or service specifications and/or national guidance and where appropriate, engage in peer review to inform and develop practice.
• Actively demonstrate an understanding of domains of Quality, and of Quality Improvement; work continuously to improve safety and quality of care in the organisation by recognised improvement methodologies and understand how this relates to national regulation.
• Engage in risk management, incident reporting, and incident investigation within your organisation and be able to share learning within and beyond your organisation through your professional networks.
• Implement new practice, and of new models of care will also be part of your role, based on your clinical, organisational and strategic knowledge and exposure.
• Lead in the development and implementation of policies, procedures and guidelines for the unit.
• Actively participate in clinical governance and risk management, respond to complaints and incidents and ensuring learning is disseminated and integrated into practice.
• Be aware of the code of professional conduct in the performance of advance nursing and be professionally accountable for own actions during the working shift.
• Provide leadership and expert clinical advice and supervision to junior medical and nursing / midwifery staff.
• Including, assessment and support to staff on the post natal ward and delivery suite.
• Encourage and guide staff to utilise resources within the department to attain and maintain high levels of medical and nursing performance.

Education Training and Professional Development

• Actively participate in an annual personal development review (PDR) covering all four pillars of practice to evidence continued competence and on-going development.
• Through sharing your experience and expertise across the organisation you will make a wider contribution to general patient care.
• Support the organisation in building capacity and capability of its workforce through participating in teaching and learning activities and the development of teaching materials.
• Continue to develop and enhance clinical and non-clinical professional skills through self-directed, independent learning. Within your team, you will identify current and future learning needs for clinical colleagues and work to meet these.
• With your excellent communications skills this will enable you to educate and empower the families and carers on how to manage their neonates or infants condition and enable them to make informed decisions about their care
• Be active in, and provide evidence of achieving the following criteria: clinical supervision and mentorship to junior medical staff on the unit.
• Act as a role model and mentor for nursing / midwifery colleagues identifying and utilising educational opportunities.
• Maintain continuous professional development and keep up to date of advances in research in neonatal care.
• Lead on the development of the multi-professional educations and training programmes
• Participate in the development of structured programmes of education and provide regular teaching sessions
• Undertake all extended role procedures according to agreed protocols with the scope of professional practice and identify areas for further advancement.

• Ensure a climate conducive to life- long learning is fostered within the Neonatal unit
• Lead in teaching of the expanded role of the nurse.

Research Audit and Evaluation, Practice and Service Development

Actively participate and engage in audit and research activities and use an expert level of knowledge to identify gaps in research and work towards filling them. You will use your internal and external professional networks to facilitate the development of this research and audit plan.

• Critically analyse relevant evidence relating to your service area, and apply it to current care delivery; within your team you will develop evidence-based pathways pertinent to your area of clinical practice.
• Participate in the development and implementation of governance systems in your area to maintain the highest standards of patient safety and quality.
• As a senior clinical figure in our organisation, disseminate best practice evidence throughout the organisation and wider regional and national networks.
• Initiate and participate in clinical research audit and benchmarking trials, formulate research proposals and gain necessary approvals.
• Share best practice by networking with multidisciplinary teams across other Trusts and neonatal networks.
• Represent the unit and regional and national forums.

• Identify areas of practice requiring development and undertake audit, implement change of practice where appropriate and evaluate outcomes.

• Collaborate with nurses and other health care professionals in the development of standards of care. Be supportive of, and participate in, unit based quality assurance activities.
• Initiate and participate in clinical research, audit, benchmarking and trials. Formulate research proposals and gain necessary approvals.
• Disseminate research and audit results through presentation to professional groups and publication.
• Play a key role in identifying and implementing service improvement and change programmes in the unit to enhance clinical care and patient experience.

Advanced Clinical Practice Skills, Knowledge & Aptitudes

Essential

• Broad and advanced knowledge of clinical pathophysiology
• Significant clinical experience in neonatal critical care
• Evidence of competence in foundation neonatal critical care-specific clinical skills diagnostic and therapeutic procedures
• Willingness to perform and/or learn additional advanced clinical skills appropriate to neonatal critical care
• NLS Qualification
• Has a sound level of knowledge in relation to invasive and non-invasive diagnostic and therapeutic procedures
• Willingness to perform and/or learn additional advanced clinical skills appropriate to neonatal critical care
• NLS Qualification

Desirable

• Neonatal Transport Experience
• Competence in performing Neonatal Cranial Ultrasound scans

Leadership and manage ment

Essential

• Evidence of leadership at local level
• Ability to manage a team of patients and prioritise workload
• Operational knowledge of adjacent services
• Team building skills and ability to manage emerging practitioners'

Desirable

• Experience within adjacent services
• Leadership qualification / course

Education

Essential

• Master's Level Award (level 7) - evidencing all 4 pillars of advanced practice capability and assessed in practice.
• Mentor/teaching qualification
• V300 - Non-Medical Prescribing course

Research and Audit

Essential

• Clinical audit experience
• Research Skills

Desirable

• Previous publication(s)

Personal Attributes

Essential

• Drive to improve the service
• Flexible and responsive to the changing needs of the service
• Highly motivated self-directed practitioner with excellent organisational skills
• Excellent communication skills verbally and written
• Well-developed facilitation and influencing skills, effective negotiation and conflict management skills

Desirable

• Ability to lead a team to support effective safe clinical care

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).