Job responsibilities
To see the full and detailed job descriptionplease refer to the attached documents.
KEY JOB RESPONSIBILITIES
Clinical
To prepare assessment and treatment materials for yourself and colleagues in the Psychological Health team.
To administer psychological or neuropsychological tests, as directed.
To conduct semi-structured interview assessment, sometimes involving difficult or distressing topics.
To accurately score assessments and interviews, and summarise in written form.
To communicate highly sensitive (and sometimes distressing) information to patient, carers/family, or to other members of the multidisciplinary team.
To be alert for clinical risks and concerns, and respond to these appropriately. This may involve seeking immediate support from staff nearby. It will also involve communicating effectively and in a timely manner the allocated Clinical Psychologist.
As directed by a Clinical Psychologist, to teach, train and support patients to practice psychological or neuropsychological techniques (for example a CBT diary, or a memory strategy).
To contribute to environmental and service developments to enhance patient experience and psychological well-being.
To work empathically and confidently with adults with intellectual or communication needs.
To work effectively with patients from a diverse range of cultural/ethnic backgrounds, understanding and respecting the impact of difference and diversity upon their lives and difficulties.
To liaise with multi-disciplinary teams as appropriate and receive and retrieve complex medical information from consultants and other healthcare professionals.
Audit and Research
To search for, collate and summerise research literature.
To contribute to data collection for research/audit, score, collate and analyse this.
To contribute to written reports/publications as required
Teaching, Training and Supervision
To plan and manage your ongoing professional development, through supervision and training.
To liaise closely with supervisors, keep them informed of any issues concerning patients and participate regularly in clinical supervision.
To work autonomously and within the competency level of an Assistant Psychologists role and be managed by a qualified Clinical Psychologist.
Governance/Professional Responsibilities
To receive regular supervision in accordance with national good practice guidelines from the Clinical Psychologist.
To contribute to governance issues within Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust and the Clinical Psychology and Neuropsychology department as they arise.
To maintain standards of clinical record keeping including entries in medical records, report writing and the responsible exercise of professional self-governance.
To collect and supply requested activity data, leave, travel and sickness and maintain records for the Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust.
To attend meetings of the Department of Clinical Psychology & Neuropsychology and to undertake duties arising from such meetings in keeping with the nature and grading of the post.
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To work in accordance with Nottingham University Hospitals Trust practice guidelines, policies and standards and abide by the current Codes of Practice as outlined by the British Psychological Society, Division of Clinical Psychology.
To attend induction and mandatory training at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust.
To participate in the annual appraisal system/individual performance reviews where required.
To maintain continuous professional development through appropriate training.
To maintain an up to date knowledge of legislation, national and local policies, issues and guidelines in relation to the specific client group.
Working Conditions
Primarily this is a patient facing service, and so opportunity/necessity to work from home would be exceptional you will normally be expected to be on-site at the NRC during working hours.
You will generally work core hours 8am-4pm. A more flexible working pattern can be discussed, but cannot be guaranteed. Equally, the service may request that you work outside of core hours occasionally, but you are not obliged to agree.
A time-back arrangement will be adopted, and there will not normally be facility for overtime.
The accurate use of highly specialised test equipment requires physical skills and highly developed manual dexterity. Very heavy test equipment will need to be taken to and from patient appointments. Frequent intense concentration will be necessary. A substantial proportion of clinical time will be spent sitting still during clinical/assessment sessions.
Clinical work will frequently be highly distressing, often dealing with serious mental illness, severe disability and patients whose behaviour is unpredictable due to brain injury and/or alcohol/drug abuse.
Working conditions will involve the risk of verbal and physical aggression when assessing/treating patients with traumatic brain injury, often working face to face without other staff immediately nearby. Appropriate alarm systems should be used.
GENERAL DUTIES (applicable to all roles within NUH)
All employees at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust are expected to adhere to the following general duties, in addition to the key job responsibilities detailed in their job descriptions
Infection Control
All Staff: To maintain a clean, safe environment, ensuring adherence to the Trusts standards of cleanliness, hygiene and infection control.
All Senior/Clinical Managers: Minimise infection risks and implement the Code of Practice for the Prevention and Control of Healthcare Associated Infections as outlined in the Health Act 2006. Ensure that evidence-based practices are embedded into daily routines.
Safeguarding
Children, Young People and Vulnerable Adults: Nottingham University Hospitals is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. All staff and volunteers are therefore expected to behave in such a way that supports this commitment.
Information Governance
Record Keeping: All staff have an individual responsibility for creating accurate records of their work and for making entries into and managing all NHS records effectively in line with the Health Record Keeping Policy as well as other Health Records and Corporate Records Management policies.
Health and Safety
Personal Responsibility: Take reasonable care to prevent injury to yourself and/or others who may be affected by your actions or omissions.
Policy Compliance: To co-operate fully in discharging the Trust policies and procedures with regard to health and safety matters.
Reporting Issues: Report any health and safety shortcomings to your manager immediately.
Incident Reporting: Report any accidents or dangerous incidents to your immediate manager & safety representative as early as possible and submit a completed accident/incident form.
Protective Equipment: Ensure the use of protective clothing and equipment where provided.
Safety Concerns: Whilst the aim of the Trust is to promote a co-operative and constructive view of health and safety concerns in the organisation, all staff must be aware that a wilful or irresponsible disregard for safety matters may give rise to disciplinary proceedings.
Governance
Participation: To actively participate in governance activities to ensure that the highest standards of care and business conduct are achieved.
Health and Wellbeing
Self-Care: All NUH employees are expected to take reasonable steps to look after both their physical health and mental health. To support this, NUH offers a wide range of health and wellbeing activities and interventions. The full programme can be viewed at on the staff intranet.
Manager Support: Line managers should encourage and support staff to look after their health and wellbeing, including the release of staff to attend health and wellbeing activities and appointments.
General Policies Procedures and Practices
Compliance: To comply with all Trust policies, procedures and practices and to be responsible for keeping up to date with any changes to these.
JOB REVISION
This job description should be regarded as a guide to the duties required and is not definitive or restrictive in any way. The duties of the post may be varied from time to time in response to changing circumstances. This job description does not form part of the contract of employment.
SERVICE REVIEW
A strategic review of all Trust services is taking place, as a result of which some services, or parts of some services, may transfer from one campus to the other. This will be decided in accordance with the most appropriate way to provide the best healthcare for patients in the future and all staff will be fully consulted on about the impact of any such decisions.