Children's Community Nurse

Job responsibilities

Principal duties:

Practice within all the NMC Professional Codes and Standards and the organisations policies and procedures

Responsible for providing day-to-day support and supervision to Band 5 Community Staff Nurses within team, acting as a role model who motivates

Responsible for deputising for the clinical team lead

Responsible for working at weekends on a rotational rota and support a 24-hour end of life care rota as required

Responsible, in conjunction with the Clinical Team Leader for the planning and organisation of the Childrens Community Nursing team including allocating and re-allocating staff according to patient need and the demands of the service and ensure the team delivers responsive care within the allocated resources.

Assesses, determines and records complex treatment plans (including physiological and/or psychological functioning) which are consistent with the outcomes of an assessment

Acts as an advocate to produce care plans in collaboration with other agencies and professionals that reflect childs/young persons/families wishes and views

Respects individual wishes, beliefs and consent to treatment ensuring privacy and dignity is maintained at all times

Maintain a high level of clinical skill e.g. care and use of central lines, enteral feeding devices, catheterisation, management of long-term ventilation, tracheotomy care, wound care, stoma care, administration of specialist infusions within the community setting and end of life care.

Work together with symptom management teams to provide a holistic approach to care for children and families, anticipate their needs and provide comfort and support for the child and the family requiring palliative care.

Undertake physical examination of the child/young person which may include listening to the heart and lungs, undertaking venepuncture, accessing central lines/ports, catheterisation, change of tracheostomy breathing tubes, replacement of Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy (PEG) feeding tubes etc.

Competent in the use of various equipment that requires accuracy within a narrow margin for error e.g. syringe drivers, ventilators, saturation monitoring, enteral/nasogastric/nasojejunal feeding pumps etc.

Take a lead role in developing and implementing the seamless transition of care, supporting early hospital discharge and continuity of care for children and their family.

Work within the delegated budget to ensure effective use of material resources/supplies

Participates in ordering equipment from centralised equipment store

Communicating and receiving sensitive, complex and sometimes contentious information where persuasive, motivational, negotiating, empathetic or reassurance skills are required

Responsible for maintaining accurate and contemporaneous records at all times

Communicates effectively with multi-disciplinary team and contributes to meetings with professionals, parents, children e.g. child protection case conference, network meetings, safeguarding processes, discharge planning etc.

Effectively communicates information to all members of the team, including sharing researching findings and necessary changes in practice and that issues are appropriately brought to the attention of the clinical team lead

Anticipates and manages barriers to understanding e.g. language, interpreters, visual and hearing impairments

Establish and maintain a robust communication pathway with acute settings on all matters that affect the management and readmission of child into hospital

Manages difficult situations to achieve resolution across a range of situations including dealing with complaints and incidents to avoid escalation whenever possible.

Participates in the management of emergency situations including major incidents

Responsible for review, analysis and comparison of clinical and staff data that informs the planning and evaluation of the teams requirements

Responsible for planning, developing and implementing systems and procedures within the team that ensure the team delivers the service within allocated resources.

Works autonomously to plan, prioritise and coordinate own workload and that of the team taking into consideration potentially conflicting roles and activities within the team.

Evaluates the effectiveness of care and reviews care plan accordingly

Contributes to the strategic planning and development of the service, children/young person care plans, policies in line with national and locally commissioned priorities, keeping in mind inclusion of children and families

Contributes towards their own development and implementation of strategies to reduce clinical and safeguarding risks, improve quality and clinical effectiveness within service provided by the team

Supports the development of audit systems and to undertake audit when required

Contributes towards specialist nursing skills, training, knowledge and expertise in the care and management of children with complex health needs and their families, advising on individual treatment programmes and their potential outcomes

Facilitate study days and teaching sessions for the team and partner organisation

Participate in service and end of life on call as required and rostered

Awareness of data collection processes and reporting systems

Monitor, control, and store resources / supplies according to the requirements and specifications of the clinical environment

Utilise theory, evidence-based literature and research to support evidence based practice in individual work and work with other team members.

Skills

Essential

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Demonstrates a responsive, pro-active approach to working within a team
• Understanding of the role of Childrens Community Nurse
• Ability to work autonomously
• Broad range of clinical skills
• Ability to organise the work load, able to delegate and prioritise
• Ability to motivate others and manage change
• Good knowledge of health and safety and risk management
• Computer literate
• Effective written and verbal communication skills

Desirable

• Ability to lead and manage a team

Other

Essential

• Occasional requirement to exert moderate physical effort for short periods
• Car Driver
• Reliable and Flexible
• Able to manage personal stress and support colleagues who may be stressed
• Ability to work in community settings with vulnerable families with language and cultural barriers.
• Innovative
• Assertive

Qualifications

Essential

• Current NMC registration - RN(child) or RSCN
• Practice assessor, supervisor, Mentor preparation/ENB 998 or equivalent
• Community Childrens Nursing degree or equivalent

Desirable

• Child protection supervisor
• Clinical supervision facilitator
• Level 7 qualification/study or equivalent experience gained by undertaking on- going personal development and training.
• Management/leadership qualification

Experience

Essential

• Experienced practitioner
• Experience of staff management
• Evidence of professional development and issues in paediatric nursing
• Experience of initiating and participating in clinical audit
• Good understanding of current nursing workforce issues
• Clear understanding of community health services

Desirable

• Previous experience of leading teams

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).