Highly Specialist Physiologist (XR07)

Job description

Job responsibilities

To be professionally and legally accountable for all aspect of own work, including the management of patients in your care.

Participates in requirements within the Paediatric Respiratory department. Demonstrating a high level of autonomy, often giving advice to medical staff with limited specialist knowledge thus directly influencing patient care outcomes.

Routinely undertakes assessment of both in-patients and out-patients prior to a range of investigations and uses own discretion in order to ensure the patient is suitable for the investigation.

Gives lead specialist advice during highly complex situations where analytical judgement is required to all other members of the multi-disciplinary team including consultant physicians.

Carries out all aspects of clinical work as approved by their Line Manager.

Lead Specialist in own clinical field. Implements change in own specialist area based on own experience and evidence based practice.

Works within and towards national guidelines and directives, e.g. NICE guidelines.

Works as an autonomous practitioner within established departmental policies and those recognised by international organisations e.g. Association for Respiratory Technology and Physiology, and Academy for Healthcare Science

Communicates with all members of the multidisciplinary team to ensure the best possible care for patients, including: negotiating, reassurance, empathy, and persuasiveness.

Communicates sensitive information about routine and complex investigations to patients and relatives/carers including those with learning and/or physical disabilities.

Calibrates and manipulates a wide range of complex, expensive, technical equipment which process, create, update and store information.

Performs / provides factual reports on a number of the following investigations on a region-wide range of patients including acutely ill paediatric patients and those with a range of physical and learning disabilities:

- Full pulmonary function testing

- Fitness to fly assessments

- Basic Spirometry and reversibility

- Trial of nebulised therapy assessment

- Bronchial provocation testing (includes Mannitol and Metacholine)

- Physiologist led Exercise Tolerance Testing (ETT)

- Exercise testing under Medical supervision

- Respiratory muscle assessments

- Field exercise tests

- Sleep physiology set up and analysis, with future aim to include full Polysomnography

- Ability to perform Cardiopulmonary exercise testing

- Advanced ambulatory monitoring techniques

- 12 lead electrocardiographs (ECGs)

Reports equipment faults in accordance with departmental policy.

Demonstrates personal duty of care for safe use of expensive and highly complex equipment. Is responsible for ensuring that others are fully trained in the safe use of such equipment within their specialist area.

Responsible for maintenance of stock levels by ordering from pre-agreed tender schedules and by seeking new resources as service demands change.

Responsible for day to day security of expensive equipment, e.g. portable devices.

Professional

Responsible for maintaining own technical competencies in clinical areas.

Responsible for reporting clinical incidents and adverse events to the Service Manager.

Maintain state registration.

Responsible for formal mentorship and coordination of training for designated staff in training within own specialist area.

Provides highly specialist training on a day to day basis for doctors and physiologists.

Be an active member of the in-service training programme by attendance at, and participation in, in-service training programmes, tutorials, individual training sessions, external courses and peer review.

Undertakes Continuing Professional Development (CPD) in accordance with Personal Development Plan (PDP) as developed with Line Manager.

Attends and participates in departmental staff meetings.

Maintains and develops current knowledge of evidence based practice in the each clinical area.

Responsible for the implementation and evaluation of capital and consumable equipment prior to purchase to ensure the equipment fulfils both service requirements and budget restrictions.

Frequently undertakes collection of data for use in audit, research projects and equipment testing.

Regularly undertakes clinical trials involving new and emerging technologies.

Regularly provides training in highly specialist physiological techniques to staff members including specialist physiologists and Medical staff.

Collaborates with the Service Manager towards changes that may impact the wider service provision.

Organisational

Ability to prioritise and organise the clinical caseload within a designated area of Paediatric Respiratory Physiology. Includes planning and organisation of expected and acute workload and deployment of more junior staff within that area.

Accountable for the delivery and day to day management of the delegated area of responsibility within their speciality.

Other

To be able to exercise initiative as an autonomous practitioner in specialist areas of the Paediatric Respiratory Department. The individual uses his/her discretion to re-adjust plans as the clinical situation/need of the patient changes.

Lead specialist in own clinical field, demonstrating highly specialist in-depth knowledge and theory.

Communicates with all members of the multidisciplinary team to ensure the best possible care for the patient. Including giving detailed advice to other specialist professions which will influence patient care/outcomes. Communication skills including:

- Negotiating, e.g. with physicians who demand investigations not achievable within the service limitations.

- Reassurance, e.g. to patients who are anxious about their clinical findings.

- Persuasiveness, e.g. to young children who are scared to undergo clinical procedures.

Paediatric Immediate Life Support training essential.

To communicate information about specialist investigations to patients and relatives/carers including those with learning and/or physical disabilities.

Performs, analyses and interprets a wide range of highly specialist and complex investigations, e.g. Physiologist led exercise testing and complex respiratory testing e.g. challenge testing, fitness to fly assessments. Generates factual reports that are documented in patient clinical notes and/or on relevant databases and directly used to influence patient management. These sources are used to aid audit and compilation of statistical information.

Has highly developed level of sensory skills and good hand to eye co-ordination in order to immediately analyse and respond to complex life threatening physiological signs. Following interpretation of these the Physiologist uses judgemental skills in order to make instantaneous decisions about further patient care.

Has a high level of manual dexterity with enhanced precision and timing skills in order to ensure the accurate application of a range of diagnostic tools. , e.g. measurement of cardiac intervals to the nearest millisecond during electrophysiology studies (EPS).

Expected to undertake informal training by means of periodic in-house assessments.

Is forced to deal with confrontation from industry representatives who can be demanding and intrusive.

To comply with the Trusts manual handling policy at all times.

Person Specification

Practical Skills or Additional Requirements

Essential

• Child centred and high standard of work
• Enthusiastic, positive attitude
• Work as part of a team and autonomously
• Responsible for own work and promote good team working
• Aware of equality and diversity and treat others with respect

Qualifications

Essential

• GCSEs in English, Maths, Science and ICT (or equivalent)
• BSc degree or equivalent course in Clinical Physiology/ Exercise Physiology/ bio-medical engineering
• ARTP certification or equivalent
• Professional RCCP, AHCS, HCPC registration or equivalent

Desirable

• ARTP part I and part II
• ARTP Practitioner qualification

Experience

Essential

• Working to deadlines

Desirable

• Evidence of ongoing professional development
• Working in a Paediatric environment
• Band 6 experience in running a Paediatric Respiratory speciality (Lung Function and/or Sleep unit and/or exercise unit)
• Research experience

Skills & Behaviours

Essential

• Understanding health and safety in a working environment
• Understand infection control in a clinical setting
• IT Skills
• Excellent communication skills
• Organisation skill and able to prioritise work

Desirable

• Knowledge of child protection systems
• Quality control in a laboratory
• ARTP, ATS, ERS and BTS guidelines
• Manual handling
• Basic Life Support
• In performing complex Paediatric lung function testing

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.

Employer details

Employer name

Leeds Teaching Hospitals

Address

Leeds General Infirmary

Belmont Grove

Leeds

LS2 9NS

Employer's website

https://www.leedsth.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)