Job responsibilities
Clinical:
1.
To provide highly specialist and complex
neuropsychology assessments and devise psychological treatment for clients
presenting with a range of complex problems involving physical, cognitive,
behavioural and emotional changes (due to injury or neurological condition)
and/or needs based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of the clients
psychological and neuropsychological problems, employing evidence-based
methods. Assessments will be based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and
integration of complex data from a variety of sources including psychological
and neuropsychological tests, self-report measures, rating scales, direct and
indirect structured observations and semi-structured interviews with clients,
family members and others involved in the client care. Information will often
be conflicting and incomplete so exceptionally high levels of analytical skills
and judgement will be required to form an opinion on complex and unique
presentations.
2.
To be aware of relevant theoretical and therapeutic
models and the evidence base of a wide range of
psychological/neuropsychological techniques and interventions, and to use this
information as part of the decision making about a clients formulation and
treatment plan. To be aware of the range of alternative treatment options and
services available in the locality and to consider onward referral of clients
if their needs require this.
3.
To provide psychological treatment and/or management,
for clients and their families, including telephone advice/consultation,
working both independently and in synthesis with members of the medical team
using a range of specialist evidence-based clinical psychology/neuropsychology
models/interventions appropriate to the service.
4.
To provide specialist neuropsychological assessment of
clients referred with Functional Neurological Disorders to identify the nature
and degree of clients neuropsychological functioning where appropriate, using
referral data, interview, questionnaire responses, specialist
neuropsychological assessments, self-report measures, semi-structured
interviews and other assessment methods as appropriate.
5.
To advise clients and their families about ways of
managing cognitive difficulties as the result of a brain injury, neurological
dysfunction, systemic illness or congenital impairment and to provide cognitive
rehabilitation consultation/intervention where appropriate.
6.
To provide specialist neuropsychological advice,
guidance and consultation to other professionals, to assist in the formulation,
diagnosis and treatment of clients, and inform rehabilitation
7.
To adapt psychological and neuropsychological
assessments as required for clients linguistic and cultural needs.
8.
To make highly skills evaluations and decisions about
treatment options taking into account both theoretical and therapeutic models
and highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes
that have shaped the client and/or family.
9.
To provide advice and information that may be of
assistance to clients and/or their families/carers in the understanding and
management plans of clients.
10.
To manage a caseload of outpatients(and significant
family members) with complex needs and to exercise full autonomous professional
responsibility for the assessment, treatment, reassessment and discharge of
clients whose problems are managed by psychological based standard care plans,
ensuring appropriate assessment, formulation and interventions and
communication with the referral agent and others involved with the care on a
regular basis. This will involve working closely with extremely distressed
clients and families and with highly emotive clinical material (e.g. people who
are facing life limiting conditions and those who have experience, loss,
disability and trauma and significant adjustment issues).
11.
To prioritise referrals according to urgency and
ensure that records are kept of all clients assessments and treatments.
12.
To use specialist psychological and neuropsychological
skills to assess risk to safety in range of activities of daily living,
self-harm, suicide and to manage potentially violent and aggressive situations
skilfully and to identify risks to self and others. Where any such risks
identified, to act appropriate to manage the risk for individual clients and
provide advice to other professionals on the psychological aspects of risk
assessment and risk management.
13.
To liaise with other medical, health and social care
staff, from a range of agencies in the care provided to clients.
14.
To liaise with MDT and care/support staff to help them
understand the clients needs and to help them to develop knowledge and skills
relating to neurological conditions and how to support patients with Functional
Neurological Disorders to reach their full potential. To attend case
conferences and provide evidence in cases where expert opinions are in
conflict.
15.
To liaise and/or refer on to other community therapy
services or voluntary organisations where this is required in order to meet
clients needs.
16.
To contribute to medical, MDT meeting, including care planning
for inpatients
17.
To provide support to team members in the form of
consultation and teaching and guidance in the use of clinical
psychology/neuropsychology theory and practice.
18.
To respond to Courts and Solicitors for reports and
professional expert witness activities consistent with polices set out by the Head
of Neuropsychology. To articulate the range of opinions and possible options in
addition to being able to give a clear rational for their own opinion in cases
where expert opinions conflict.
19.
To facilitate effective team working within UHL by
providing psychological expertise and perspectives to optimise the effectiveness
of assessment and treatment for individual clients and families
20.
To act as care coordinator and coordinating the work
of others involved with care; chairing and leading care planning reviews as
required and communicating effectively with the client, his/her family and all
others involved in the network of care. To monitor progress during the course
of multi-disciplinary interventions.
21.
To provide expert clinical input to case conferences,
referral allocation meetings and meetings held jointly with other agencies.
Teaching, training and
supervision
22.
To provide advice, consultation, teaching, training
and supervision to members of the medical team, and to other health and social
care staff, regarding the psychological needs of clients.
23.
To provide
advice and consultation to psychologists operating across the trust on
neuropsychological assessment and interpretation
24.
To be responsible for organising appropriate training
events
25.
To provide teaching to medical staff, medical
students, nursing staff and professions allied to medicine
26.
To provide clinical placements for trainee
psychologists, ensuing the trainees acquire the necessary skills, competencies
and experience to contribute effectively to health care and to contribute to
the assessment and evaluation of such competencies
27.
To provide professional and clinical supervision of
qualified, trainee and assistant psychologists working in the service as agreed
with the Head of Neuropsychology.
28.
To continue to develop skills in the area of
professional postgraduate teaching, training and clinical supervision and to
provide supervision to other MDT staffs psychological work as appropriate.
29.
To receive regular clinical professional supervision
from a senior clinical neuropsychologist and, where appropriate, other senior
professional colleagues.
30.
To contribute to the pre and post qualification
teaching of clinical and/or other applied psychologists
Management,
Recruitment, Policy and Service Development
31. To
ensure the delivery of a high quality best-practice and evidence-based service
within area of own responsibility
32. To
work with different services across the region and outside the region to
implement policy and best-practice
33. To
identify gaps or resource issues in the services and to initiate and implement
developments
34. To
ensure the development of a high quality, responsive and accessible
neuropsychology service for clients, their carers and families, including
advising both service and professional management on those aspects of the
service where psychological and/or organisational matters need addressing.
35. To
establish clear guidelines with the medical team to help them identify who
might benefit from psychological and neuropsychological assessment and
intervention.
36. To
develop group interventions for clients and families, both independently and in
collaboration with the multi-disciplinary team.
37. To
exercise delegated authority for ensuring that psychological/neuropsychological
assessment material and procedures used at UHL are up to date and meet
professional standards. The materials are used by others within the team and
trust and a key role is to ensure that only those with appropriate levels of
training and qualification can access materials.
38. To use
knowledge from clinical psychology training to promote good team working within
appropriate areas of service, identify problems and work with others to produce
solutions.
39. To
contribute to the development, evaluation and monitoring of the teams
operational policies and services, through the deployment of professional
skills in research, service evaluation and audit.
40. To
exercise responsibility for the systematic governance of psychological practice
within the service
41. To
assist the Consultant Clinical Neuropsychologist in the line management of more
junior psychology staff including PDP planning and implementation as appropriate
42.
To monitor service provision to clients within area of
responsibility to ensure equity of provision to all clients and to take the initiative
to improve equity and develop a culturally sensitive service
