Job responsibilities
To be responsible for a range of specialist assessments and diagnoses of individuals within the Echocardiography service using an advanced level of professional accountability, autonomy, and judgement, underpinned by master's level theory and experience. This includes highly complex decision-making across a broad range of differentiated and undifferentiated individual presentations and complex situations, synthesising information from multiple sources to make appropriate, evidence-based judgements and diagnoses.To plan and manage complete episodes of care. This will be working in collaboration with senior medical colleagues and others when required. Delegating and referring as appropriate, to ensure timely, effective management to optimise health outcomes, in line with the evidence base and nationally recognised best practice.To play a key operational role and maintain a pro-active approach to managing, updating and leading clinical pathways.To promote and implement service and policy development and redesign, impacting beyond own area and other disciplines, informed by current best practice and evidence-base, in accordance with Good Scientific Practice (GSP) and values-based care.To ensure high quality learning environments for all disciplines within a context of multi-professional education and training that is responsive to future changes and challenges leading to and supporting the maintenance of a learning environment producing learners that are fit for workforce plans.
Advanced Clinical Scientists (ACSs) are required to fulfil the five domains of Good Scientific Practice: clinical practice, leadership and management, education, research, and scientific practice. The first four of these align directly with the four pillars of Advanced Practice, and the additional requirements of scientific practice are key to any ASP role.Establishes and maintains excellent communication with individuals and groups, providing and receiving highly complex, sensitive and/or contentious information and exploring complex issues across a wide range of care options and decisions.Communicates complex, very sensitive, sometimes distressing information to service users and their carers using empathy and reassurance; identifies and overcome barriers to understanding as appropriate.Establishes supportive partnerships with service users and their carers and communicates with them, sometimes in highly distressing or emotional circumstances, which may involve imparting bad news.Establishes and maintains local and regional networks of contacts sharing of good practice, innovative ideas and developing best practice.Ensures that accurate, essential, and appropriate written and verbal information is relayed to colleagues.Develops and implements robust governance systems and systematic documentation processes, keeping the need for modifications under critical review and supporting overall governance process, including adverse incident and complaints reporting and investigation.In all aspects of work, demonstrates an ability to work autonomously across organisational and professional boundaries and can challenge appropriately.Collects statistical information and data to inform the service and aid the business planning process.Identifies areas where investment should be made to further develop the service and feed this into the business planning cycle locally and nationally.Uses data and information to identify areas for service improvement and using improvement methodologies, work with staff to implement and evaluate the changes made.Initiates, evaluates and modifies interventions in accordance with Trust policies, as agreed at department and service group level.Exercises professional judgement to assess and manage risk appropriately, where there may be complex and unpredictable events. In such situations, provides the required support to teams to ensure the safety of service users, and their families and carers.Evaluates own practice, and participates in multi-disciplinary service and team evaluation, demonstrating the impact of advanced scientific practice on service function and effectiveness, and quality (i.e. outcomes of care, experience and safety).Continually develops practice in response to changing population health needs, engaging in horizon scanning for future developments (e.g. impacts of genomics, new treatments and changing social challenges).Undertakes and interprets a range of specialist investigations, conducting health needs assessments, physical examinations, detailed medicines history, and clinical measurements using advanced clinical skills.Works in partnership with service users, families and carers, using a range of assessment methods as appropriate (e.g. history-taking, holistic assessment, identifying risk factors, mental health assessments, requesting, undertaking and interpreting diagnostic tests).Uses knowledge, expertise, and decision-making skills to inform clinical reasoning approaches when dealing with differentiated and undifferentiated individual presentations and complex situations, synthesizing information from multiple sources to make appropriate evidence-based judgements and/or diagnoses.Demonstrates ongoing evidence of capability in accordance with the Trust policy on Advanced Scientific Practice.Acts on professional judgement about when to seek help, demonstrating critical reflection on own practice, self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and openness to change. Initiates appropriate, timely consultation or referral when more expert input is required.Practices in compliance with Good Scientific Practice, the HCPC code of professional conduct, and within their scope of practice. Is responsible and accountable for decisions, actions and omissions at this level of practice.Demonstrates a critical understanding of their level of responsibility and autonomy and the limits of own competence and professional scope of practice including when working with complex risk, uncertainty, and incomplete information.Engages with, appraises, and responds to service users' motivation, development stage and capacity, working collaboratively to support health literacy and empower individuals to participate in decisions about their care and to maximise their health and well-being.
Acts as a clinical role model for developing and delivering care that is responsive to changing requirements, informed by an understanding of local population health needs, agencies and networks.Demonstrates the underpinning subject-specific competencies i.e knowledge, skills and behaviours relevant to the role setting and scope, and demonstrate application of the capabilities to these, in an approach that is appropriate to the individual role, setting and scope.Discusses and agrees assessment outcomes with individuals, carers, and other health professionals, to enable informed decisions regarding treatment and care.Initiates appropriate, timely consultation and/or referral when more expert input is required. If appropriate to the role, undertakes the role of a non-medical prescriber or utilise agreed Patient Group Directions (PGD) /Protocols and contributes to wider Trust Policy and Governance procedures regarding medicines management.Critically engages in research activity, adhering to good research practice guidance, so that evidence-based strategies are developed and applied to enhance quality, safety, productivity, and value for money.Critically appraises and synthesises the outcome of relevant research, evaluation, and audit, using the results to underpin own practice and to inform that of others.Takes a critical approach to identify gaps in the evidence base and its application to practice, alerting appropriate individuals and organisations how they might be addressed in a safe and pragmatic way.Actively identifies potential need for further research to strengthen evidence for best practice. This may involve acting as an educator, leader, innovator and contributor to research activity, and seeking out and applying for research funding.Negotiates an individual scope of practice within legal, ethical, professional, and organisational policies, governance and procedures, with a focus on managing risk and upholding safety.Pro-actively initiates and develops effective relationships, fostering clarity of roles within teams, to encourage productive working.Role models organisation values, demonstrating a person-centred approach to service delivery and development.Actively engages in peer reviews to inform own and other's practice, formulating and implementing strategies to act on learning and make improvements.Demonstrates visible, credible, and effective team leadership, resilience and determination, managing situations that are unfamiliar, complex or unpredictable and seeking to build confidence in others.Demonstrates receptiveness to challenge and preparedness to constructively challenge others, escalating concerns that affect individuals', families', carers', communities' and colleagues' safety and well-being when necessary.Advocates for and contribute to a culture of organisational learning to inspire future and existing staff.Facilitates collaboration of the wider team and supports peer review processes to identify individual and team learning.Acts as a role model, educator, supervisor, coach, and mentor, seeking to instil and develop the confidence of others.Actively participates in Advanced Clinical Practice apprentice and non-apprentice routes by way of mentorship and close working relationships with relevant services and HEIs.Has systems in place for the identification of poor practice, development and monitoring of development plans for all staff and the monitoring of compliance with training.
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