Job summary
We are seeking to appoint a dynamic, caring, and compassionate Exercise Physiologist to support our established cardiac rehabilitation team develop the service to heart failure patients at South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust. This is an exciting opportunity to join our multi-disciplinary team of cardiac rehabilitation specialist nurses and exercise physiologist, support staff and volunteers to continue to positively influence the care of cardiac patients.
The post has a strong health promotion focus to support patients and their families through a pathway of care from diagnosis to identification of eligibility for rehabilitation, assessment through to long term management and promotion of self-care.
Being a car driver with access to a car is essential for the role.
Closing date: 7/4/24
Interview: 26/4/24
Main duties of the job
The post holder will be an expert exercise physiologist who will work as part of the Cardiac Rehabilitation Team to prioritise work accordingly and will provide, initiate, co-ordinate and evaluate a comprehensive heart failure rehabilitation programme to patients and their families which include risk factor analysis.
To be a clinically based competent and skilled autonomous practitioner choosing, managing, planning and delivering the most appropriate treatment programmes tailored to individual needs, ensuring access to high quality phase 1 - 4 cardiac rehabilitation services.
Work with the local Leisure Service, local NHS providers and wider community to promote long term physical activity amongst individuals with established heart disease.
Key role in demonstrating an equitable service through clinical audit and clinical effectiveness.
Work as part of a multi-professional team to ensure effective communication and coordinated delivery of care for patients and carers.
Work in collaboration with the cardiac nursing team to plan and deliver care and cardiac services locally.
Continually develop and update knowledge and highly specialist skills in specialist area of competence and delivery of evidence based care.
About us
Come and join a Trust rated Outstanding by the CQC. South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust have been rated as outstanding following our latest inspection by the CQC and we are recruiting new staff to come and help us improve even further.
We provide services across Warwickshire and beyond ranging from Hospitals in Warwick, Stratford-Upon-Avon, Royal Leamington Spa and Shipston-on Stour to Community Services across the county. We are a progressive, expanding organisation with great ambition around improving quality, integrating pathways and delivering high levels of productivity.
Our values can be summed up in one sentence. We are 'Trusted to provide safe, effective and compassionate care'. Throughout the recruitment process you will be asked to think about how you demonstrate these values and how they impact on your work. It doesn't matter what role you do, whether it is patient facing or not, we are all working in the same way with our values at the core.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Expertise & Excellence in Clinical Practice
- Provide support to patients with cardiac conditions and their families, in line with the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) Guidelines for Heart Failure and the British Society for Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation Standards (BACR).
- Contribute to the delivery of evidence-based personalised and compassionate care which places quality at the heart of practice. Care will be responsive to individual needs and reflect current local protocols and national guidelines.
- Act as a patient advocate to facilitate the process of shared decision making in respect to health, choice of treatment and care. Use interpersonal and communication skills where there may be significant barriers in order to build confidence. Ensure that patients individual needs are expressed and valued and individual care plans are understood.
- Plan programmes for heart failure rehabilitation, co-ordinating staff, venues and patients.
- Timely and appropriately recruitment of patients to exercise programme. Contact patients individually referred for rehabilitation.
- Undertake a comprehensive assessment of patients following a cardiac event, who may have complex conditions including multi-pathology.
- Use well developed clinical reasoning and departmental/local guidelines to needs assess, risk assess and advise on treatment and lifestyle changes.
- Manage group sessions, providing clinical monitoring and education.
- Report to and/or refer onto other agencies and health professionals, patients following participation in cardiac rehabilitation programme.
- To educate and mentor less experienced members of the cardiology nursing team.
- Work autonomously within scope of practice to make clinical decisions and judgements regarding patient management as per local/national and international guidelines.
- Undertakes risk assessments regarding patient condition and environment to ensure patient and staff safety.
- The post holder must be able to give a full explanation of the patients condition and proposed management to the patient and discuss expected outcomes with them.
- The post holder is required to educate patients on an individual and group basis.
- Ensure the patient understands and agrees to therapy plan and to set realistic timescales for achieving goals.
- To ensure that within the group setting each patient exercises within their agreed individual exercise prescription and is monitored at each session. To act independently to changes in the patients status and modify treatment accordingly.
- In conjunction with the heart failure / cardiac rehabilitation nurse, undertake an individual risk assessment for exercise, based on cardiac history and current medical conditions. Taking into consideration both cardiac and physical risk of exercise allowing safe exercise prescription and adaptations of exercise programmes.
- Agreed functional capacity tests to be performed as part of the patients initial assessment and again at the completion of the programme in order to contribute towards monitoring and audit of patient related outcome measure.
- Support patients to self-manage their condition where deemed appropriate. Provide education for those who will need guided support to self-manage and those who will need on-going face to face support.
- Contribute to the management of a caseload of patients within specialty and prioritise workload to meet patient and service need, including MDT clinics.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Expertise & Excellence in Clinical Practice
- Provide support to patients with cardiac conditions and their families, in line with the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) Guidelines for Heart Failure and the British Society for Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation Standards (BACR).
- Contribute to the delivery of evidence-based personalised and compassionate care which places quality at the heart of practice. Care will be responsive to individual needs and reflect current local protocols and national guidelines.
- Act as a patient advocate to facilitate the process of shared decision making in respect to health, choice of treatment and care. Use interpersonal and communication skills where there may be significant barriers in order to build confidence. Ensure that patients individual needs are expressed and valued and individual care plans are understood.
- Plan programmes for heart failure rehabilitation, co-ordinating staff, venues and patients.
- Timely and appropriately recruitment of patients to exercise programme. Contact patients individually referred for rehabilitation.
- Undertake a comprehensive assessment of patients following a cardiac event, who may have complex conditions including multi-pathology.
- Use well developed clinical reasoning and departmental/local guidelines to needs assess, risk assess and advise on treatment and lifestyle changes.
- Manage group sessions, providing clinical monitoring and education.
- Report to and/or refer onto other agencies and health professionals, patients following participation in cardiac rehabilitation programme.
- To educate and mentor less experienced members of the cardiology nursing team.
- Work autonomously within scope of practice to make clinical decisions and judgements regarding patient management as per local/national and international guidelines.
- Undertakes risk assessments regarding patient condition and environment to ensure patient and staff safety.
- The post holder must be able to give a full explanation of the patients condition and proposed management to the patient and discuss expected outcomes with them.
- The post holder is required to educate patients on an individual and group basis.
- Ensure the patient understands and agrees to therapy plan and to set realistic timescales for achieving goals.
- To ensure that within the group setting each patient exercises within their agreed individual exercise prescription and is monitored at each session. To act independently to changes in the patients status and modify treatment accordingly.
- In conjunction with the heart failure / cardiac rehabilitation nurse, undertake an individual risk assessment for exercise, based on cardiac history and current medical conditions. Taking into consideration both cardiac and physical risk of exercise allowing safe exercise prescription and adaptations of exercise programmes.
- Agreed functional capacity tests to be performed as part of the patients initial assessment and again at the completion of the programme in order to contribute towards monitoring and audit of patient related outcome measure.
- Support patients to self-manage their condition where deemed appropriate. Provide education for those who will need guided support to self-manage and those who will need on-going face to face support.
- Contribute to the management of a caseload of patients within specialty and prioritise workload to meet patient and service need, including MDT clinics.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Degree in Exercise Physiology/ Sports Science
- Teaching and assessing qualification
- BACPR instructor training
- Experience in Cardiac Care
- Evidence of continuous professional development
- Intermediate Life Support
Experience
Essential
- A minimum of 3 years' experience in cardiology with evidence of continued professional development in this area.
- Understanding, knowledge and experience of Cardiac rehabilitation
- Understanding, knowledge and experience of Cardiac Exercise Physiologist
Desirable
- Resource management skills
Skills
Essential
- Able to lead a cardiac rehabilitation exercise programme effectively
- Up to date knowledge of current clinical and professional issues
- Proven listening skills
- Excellent verbal, written, interpersonal and communication skills
- Ability to prioritise workload
- Evidence of negotiation skills, informing, enquiring, persuading and directing as appropriate
- Understanding of the change management process.
- Knowledge of quality standards and relevant national and local guidance e.g. NICE, BACPR, BSH, CQUINS
- Demonstrates commitment and ability to teach others
- Initiates change
- Able to achieve personal objectives
Personal Qualities
Essential
- Recognition of own development requirements
- Team player
- Creative thinker
- Diplomatic
Other
Essential
- Car Driver
- Flexible and positive approach to work, ability to work at various hospital and service delivery locations
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Degree in Exercise Physiology/ Sports Science
- Teaching and assessing qualification
- BACPR instructor training
- Experience in Cardiac Care
- Evidence of continuous professional development
- Intermediate Life Support
Experience
Essential
- A minimum of 3 years' experience in cardiology with evidence of continued professional development in this area.
- Understanding, knowledge and experience of Cardiac rehabilitation
- Understanding, knowledge and experience of Cardiac Exercise Physiologist
Desirable
- Resource management skills
Skills
Essential
- Able to lead a cardiac rehabilitation exercise programme effectively
- Up to date knowledge of current clinical and professional issues
- Proven listening skills
- Excellent verbal, written, interpersonal and communication skills
- Ability to prioritise workload
- Evidence of negotiation skills, informing, enquiring, persuading and directing as appropriate
- Understanding of the change management process.
- Knowledge of quality standards and relevant national and local guidance e.g. NICE, BACPR, BSH, CQUINS
- Demonstrates commitment and ability to teach others
- Initiates change
- Able to achieve personal objectives
Personal Qualities
Essential
- Recognition of own development requirements
- Team player
- Creative thinker
- Diplomatic
Other
Essential
- Car Driver
- Flexible and positive approach to work, ability to work at various hospital and service delivery locations
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.
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).
Additional information
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).
