Specialty Doctor in Palliative Medicine

Job responsibilities

To work flexibly and collaboratively with all members of the hospice multidisciplinary team to provide day to day specialist palliative care to patients on the Cornwall Hospice inpatient units.

Organisational responsibilities:

Health & Safety - as an employee of Cornwall Hospice you will be expected to work safely and considering others who may be affected by your work activities. You will need to work in accordance with the Health & Safety Policy and to follow training you have been given when using any equipment, substance, safety device or safe system of work. All safety issues must be reported immediately to the appropriate manager.

Policies and procedures awareness and compliance with the Cornwall Hospices policies and procedures.

Ambassador you will be an ambassador for Cornwall Hospice and ensure that whenever possible, you positively promote our purpose and values to the wider public.

IT IT literacy is a skill which is required for all Cornwall Hospice positions as you will be expected to use the staff intranet and access information using our IT based procedures.

Confidentiality you will be required to maintain strict confidentiality of all information relating to Cornwall Hospice, its patients, their relatives, staff, volunteers, business matters and shops.

Job specific duties and responsibilities:

The range of duties considered appropriate for the Specialty Doctor in Palliative Care is set out below. This list is not exhaustive, and the responsibilities will be regularly reviewed and adapted. This will occur at least annually during job planning. The postholder will be expected to be flexible.

Medical Management

The medical management of hospice inpatients to deliver specialist palliative care including:

Undertaking a comprehensive holistic assessment on admission considering physical, psychological, social and spiritual aspects of care.

To work collaboratively with other members of the medical team to review existing hospice inpatients and contribute to their daily ongoing care, under the guidance of local palliative care consultants who act as Responsible Clinicians, supported by Cornwall Hospices Specialist Doctor. This will include ongoing management of symptoms such as pain, and of the psychosocial effects of advanced illness, to establish a holistic therapeutic relationship to support patients and those close to them.

To maintain comprehensive patient clinical records in line with Cornwall Hospice requirements to ensure that accurate and up to date information is always available for multi-disciplinary colleagues.

To liaise with external multi-disciplinary healthcare professionals and relevant agencies to support effective and timely admission and discharge from the hospice as appropriate.

To ensure timely accurate completion of referral to local medical examiner service and associated paperwork.

Participate in the on-call rota for medical cover at both hospice sites.

To engage in hospice quality improvements activities including clinical audit, clinical governance and policy review to ensure our hospice policies and procedures remain up to date with best practice in palliative care. The post holder will actively engage in efforts to improve patient safety, recognising the importance of continuous learning and improvement.

To keep up to date with best practice in palliative care, to maintain personal continuing professional development, engaging with internal professional review, eternal annual appraisal and five-yearly revalidation with the requirements of the GMC.

Maintain the standards of professional accountability as determined by the GMC.

Contribute to Cornwall Hospice educational programmes including clinical support and training of hospice medical and nursing staff and provide support for clinical placements for medical students from the University of Exeter Medical School (UEMS) within limits of experience.

To comply the Cornwall Hospices mandatory training requirements.

People & Culture

Work across teams and departments to support effective communication and collaborative working through a ONETEAM philosophy.

Demonstrate the behaviours expected to achieve the charity's strategic objectives.

Positively contribute to the cultivation of a work environment that attracts and retains great people, committed to the achievement of the strategic objectives.

Nurture a culture of collaboration, innovation, commitment and resource efficiency to ensure the provision of exceptional patient care and support.

Hold all staff and volunteers in positive regard and foster a culture of respect and consideration between all members of the charity.

General

This job description is intended to provide an outline of the duties and responsibilities of the post and is not exhaustive and may be amended periodically as necessary. The post holder may be asked to undertake other duties within the general level and scope of the post and to work at other Cornwall Hospice sites as required.

Experience

Essential

• Essential:
• Demonstrable relevant clinical experience ideally including specific experience in palliative medicine.
• Demonstrable experience of a commitment to the clinical care of individuals at the end of their lives.
• Ability and experience of assessing patients holistically.
• Demonstrable experience of multi-disciplinary team working.

Desirable

• Desirable:
• Experience of palliative care in a specialist setting, such as a hospice, community palliative care or as part of a hospital specialist palliative care team.
• Experience of teaching a range of students and healthcare professionals.
• Experience of using electronic prescribing and patient record systems.

Knowledge and skills

Essential

• Essential:
• Understanding of the principles of clinical governance and quality improvement and their contribution to ensure patient safety.
• Understanding of the complexities of working with individuals at times of distress and conflict.
• An understanding of communication skills needed to support important conversations in challenging circumstances.
• Developed communication and interpersonal skills to facilitate communication with patients, those close to them and other healthcare professionals.
• Developed ability to work effectively and collaboratively alongside other professionals, within a multidisciplinary team.
• Ability to synthesize complex information applying evidence-based Ability to manage a complex workload.
• Developed IT skills.

Desirable

• Experience of palliative care in a specialist setting, such as a hospice, community palliative care or as part of a hospital specialist palliative care team.
• Experience of teaching a range of students and healthcare professionals.
• Experience of using electronic prescribing and patient record systems.
• Understanding of the key issues relating to end of life care including national strategies and policy development

Qualifications

Essential

• Essential:
• Primary medical qualification.
• Full registration as a medical practitioner with the General Medical Council (GMC).
• Membership of a recognised medical defence organisation.
• A minimum of four years postgraduate experience, with at least two years in a relevant specialty, for example, palliative medicine, general practice, oncology or elderly medicine.

Desirable

• Desirable :
• Membership of the Royal Colleges of Physicians or Royal College of General Practitioners, or equivalent qualification.
• Certificate, Diploma or MSC in Palliative Medicine.
• Teaching, mentorship or supervision qualification.
• Advanced communication skills training.

Personal Attributes

Essential

• A passion for hospice and palliative care.
• An engaging personal style and ability to take an interest in all kinds of people.
• Calm and approachable with a good sense of humour.
• Willingness to learn and develop new skills.
• Ability to work as part of a team, prioritise clinical workload and manage time effectively.
• Ability to work autonomously, problem solve and take responsibility, with more senior support when required.
• Positive and confident outlook, empathetic with patients, those close to them and colleagues.
• Commitment to continuing professional development (CPD). appraisal and revalidation processes, and to the requirements of clinical governance and audit.
• Awareness of equality, diversity and inclusion in all aspects of work.

Desirable

• Flexible and thoughtful in approach, with the ability to respond positively in a rapidly changing environment and handle contentious or challenging situations in creative, non-judgemental ways.
• Enthusiastic approach to teaching.

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.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).