Consultant Clinical Scientist in Radiation Protection

Job responsibilities

PRIMARY DUTIES & AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY

Appointed as Medical Physics Expert under IRMER 17 for Diagnostic & Interventional Radiology

Appointed as Radiation Protection Adviser under the Ionising Radiations Regulations

Appointed as Radioactive Waste Adviser under the Environmental Permitting Regulations (desirable)

Deputise to the Head of Clinical & Radiation Physics

1. CLINICAL SCIENTIFIC

1.1 To act as an appointed Radiation Protection Adviser (RPA) for the Trust and its customers. In providing RPA services, to discuss, analyse and advise independently and without supervision, and to receive, analyse and present highly complex information, to the Trust at all levels up to, and including, the Chief Executive. RPA duties include:

1.1.1 to provide expert advice to the Chief Executive, senior management and staff at all levels on all aspects of radiation safety in the use of radiation generators and radionuclides.

1.1.2 to provide expert advice on compliance with all relevant radiation safety legislation.

1.1.3 to provide expert advice on the design of new facilities and techniques where ionising radiations are used.

1.1.4 to provide advice on protection of staff and the public from radiation hazards, and on actions to be taken in the event of a radiation incident;

1.1.6 to conduct audits of compliance with radiation safety legislation and Trust policies on a regular basis, to report the results of audits in writing, and to make recommendations for actions and improvements to the Trust at a senior level.

1.1.7 to formulate, develop and maintain the radiation safety policies and strategies of the Trust to meet standards required by radiation safety legislation, and to advise heads of departments on the implementation of these policies and strategies through local procedures and codes of practice.

1.1.8 to provide dose assessments or estimates for staff, and the public as required and to report findings and make recommendations to heads of service.

1.1.9 to conduct surveys of radiation areas in order to assess and monitor levels of radiation exposure to staff, patients and visitors, to report findings in writing and to formulate measures for dose reduction and optimisation.

1.1.10 for the Trust, to ensure, prior to purchase, that radiation equipment purchased is necessary and can be operated in a safe manner by qualified staff.

1.1.11 to advise on the specification, commissioning, acceptance and quality assurance of all equipment generating radiation, monitoring radiation or restricting radiation exposure in relation to the safety of staff and public.

1.1.13 to be responsible for, and to provide instruction and training in radiation protection.

1.2 To act as a Medical Physics Expert (MPE) to the Trust and its customers for Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology. In doing so, to understand the clinical aspects of medical exposures and to present highly complex information to clinicians and other staff involved in medical exposures, and, where relevant, to patients and others undergoing a medical exposure. The MPE role is carried out independently and without supervision. MPE duties include:

1.2.1 to provide expert advice on the optimisation of diagnostic medical exposures and on patient dosimetry and quality assurance.

1.2.2 to provide dosimetry data for standard operating protocols at the request of the relevant department manager.

1.2.3 to provide radiation dose data to clinicians for individual medical exposures, including research exposures, to enable the clinical justification of an exposure to occur.

1.2.4 to give expert advice to clinicians on the appropriate information to be given to patients and research volunteers regarding their medical exposure and how they might minimise the radiation dose to themselves and others.

1.2.5 to give expert advice on the establishment of diagnostic reference levels for medical exposures and on their use in auditing current clinical practice regarding medical exposures.

1.1.5 to provide expert advice on dose minimisation to comforters and carers who may be exposed to radiation in their care of an exposed individual.

1.2.6 to give expert advice to the Trust on the implementation of legislation relating to medical exposures and in general on the radiation protection of the patient.

1.2.7 to advise on the specification, commissioning, acceptance, and quality assurance of all equipment generating radiation, monitoring radiation or restricting radiation exposure in relation to the safety of staff and public.

1.2.8 to advise on the investigation and analysis of incidents involving suspected accidental or unintended exposure to patients.

1.3 To act as a Medical Physics Expert in the Physics of Diagnostic Radiology under the Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations i.e. to act as a lead source of knowledge and expertise in this field.

1.4 Responsible for the planning and delivery of the programme of radiation safety and equipment and performance testing of highly complex, patient critical, x-ray equipment, to ensure statutory compliance, and adherence to professional standards.

1.5 Test highly complex, patient-critical x-ray equipment requiring high precision measurements. Analyse results and provide reports and advice on findings to the Trust and users on the safety and efficacy of the use of the equipment.

1.6 Advise on and assist with safe methods for storage and disposal of solid and liquid waste including maintenance of disposal records, liaison with the Environment Agency, licence applications and associated assessment of the local environmental impact of disposals.

Knowledge and Experience

Essential

• oHighly advanced theoretical and practical expert proven knowledge of the field of Radiation Safety, including the knowledge required to act as a Radiation Protection Adviser for a large teaching hospital and other academic and commercial organisations.
• oHighly advanced proven specialist knowledge of the Ionising Radiations Regulations 2017 and their application to a medical and biomedical research environment.
• oAdvanced proven specialist knowledge of radiation issues in Radiology sufficient to act as a Medical Physics Expert under the Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations 2017.
• oAbility to apply proven knowledge and demonstrable experience in making judgements regarding the safe and optimal use of radiation by themselves and others, involving objective assessment of benefits and detriments associated with various options available.

Desirable

• oSpecialist proven knowledge in other legislative areas such as Road Transport of Radioactive Materials, Trans-frontier Shipment of Radioactive Materials Radiation Emergency Preparedness etc.
• oDemonstrable experience managing a scientific service or specialist service
• oProven knowledge required to act as Radioactive Waste Adviser for a large teaching hospital and other academic and commercial organisations.
• oSpecialist proven knowledge of the Environmental Permitting Regulations.

Clinical

Essential

• oHighly specialised proven knowledge of clinical issues and their implications for radiation dosimetry purposes
• oAbility to provide highly specialised advice on the use of radiation for patient diagnosis and treatment, for routine care and when planning and implementing a research programme
• oHigh level of understanding of patient and staff risks arising from equipment failure and staff error
• oHigh Level of understanding of risk management processes

Managerial

Essential

• oDemonstrable experience of HR processes
• oAble to prioritise and manage own work
• oAble to implement policies and procedures in own work and to advise on policy and procedure review, development and implementation in services provided by others.
• oTraining and experience in quality improvement methods.
• oAble to assess impact of policy/procedure changes on safety and service provision.
• oAble to plan and organise a broad range of complex procedures/activities and to monitor ongoing progress.
• oAble to work in a team
• oDemonstrable experience in risk and incident management, communication and mitigation.

Qualifications

Essential

• oGood (1st or 2nd class) Honours degree in a relevant subject [e.g. Physics]
• oMSc in a relevant subject [e.g. Radiation Physics]
• oHCPC registration as a Clinical Scientist
• oCertificate of competence to act in the following certificated roles: oRadiation Protection Adviser (RPA) oMedical Physics Expert (MPE)

Desirable

• oCertificate of Competence in RWA
• oLaser Protection Adviser certificate
• oManagement Qualification
• oMembership of IPEM (MIPEM/FIPEM) oMembership of SRP oMembership of BIR

Aptitudes and Abilities

Essential

• oExpert proven knowledge of the techniques employed to measure the performance and radiological safety of state of the art X-ray imaging equipment.
• oDemonstrable ability in interpreting different situations and judging measures required to ensure compliance in areas that relate to the legislation listed above
• oAdvanced proven knowledge of the use of specialist testing equipment employed to measure the safety and performance of radiological equipment.
• oAble to use other specialised software relating to radiation safety information and radiation dose/exposure calculations

Disposition, Atittitude and Motivation

Essential

• oAble to receive and assimilate highly complex technical and scientific information relating to ionising radiation
• oAble to communicate highly complex technical and scientific information to a wide range of staff and the public with differing levels of knowledge and understanding. To communicate rationally in order to overcome recipients fears or resistance relating to use of radiation and radiation exposure.
• oAble to produce clear and unambiguous written reports, guidance, policies and procedures which can be understood by staff at all levels within the organisation.
• oAble to communicate risk associated with radiation exposure in a clear manner to persons with no specialist knowledge, including nurses and members of the public.
• oAble to understand the concerns which individuals may have regarding the risks associated with radiation exposure and deal with highly emotive reactions relating to radiation use.
• oAble to communicate highly complex information at postgraduate level to other professional groups.
• oAble to deliver teaching and training on complex subjects
• oAble to deal with complex and unpredictable situations

Desirable

• oEvidence of previous significant contribution to the research base/field in peer review journal articles.
• oTrack record of verbal and poster presentations at national/international scientific meetings.

Other factors

Essential

• oManual dexterity; well-developed physical accuracy and dexterity for the ability to make accurate measurements using sophisticated testing equipment.
• oAble to deal with occasional distressing circumstances

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).