Senior Oncology Dietitian

Job description

Job responsibilities

Key Responsibilities:

Clinical/Professional

• To deliver Specialist Dietetic intervention to medical Oncology within Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust, making sound professional judgments regarding nutrition and hydration, frequently requiring intervention by the Oncology and Nutrition Support MDTs.
• To work with the Team Leads in developing the dietetic service for adults with cancer developing knowledge and skills and acting as a resource for the dietetic department - dividing time between clinical input and service development activities.
• Working autonomously, and in liaison with Head & Neck Specialist Dietitian, in managing a caseload of patients demanding specialised Dietetic assessment and intervention using specialist knowledge and skills in the out-patient setting including clinics and telephone contact.
• As a resource to Cancer MDTs leading dietetic care by signposting patients down appropriate dietetic care pathways, working closely with regional specialist colleagues and liaising with other members of the dietetic, and nutrition nurse teams in hospital, in the community and across the region to ensure continuity of care.
• To work with the Community Team Lead in developing the community dietetic service. To deliver community dietetic intervention in outpatient clinics (face to face and telephone), patient education groups (face to face and virtual), community hospitals and other NHS premises, to patients referred by GPs, consultants, and other health care professionals.
• To deliver dietetic intervention within domiciliary visits where necessary to patients referred by GPs, consultants and other health care professionals. This includes patients on home enteral feeding and with various complex conditions (including oncology and neurological conditions).
• To act as an advocate for patients, carers and relatives to ensure dietary intake and nutritional status are considered as part of medical and surgical treatment pathways liaising with key members of both the local MDT, and other regional services where required, to achieve this.
• Play a lead role in proactively recommending artificial nutrition support in a timely way to prevent unnecessary/prolonged admissions and to improve patient clinical outcomes.
• Challenge and discuss with other expert professionals nutritional issues that may affect decisions about patient care or service delivery.
• Demonstrate regular personal development activities. To keep up to date on professional matters actively pursuing training for self-development relevant to the role through an individual training plan.
• Implement evidence-based practice, initiate, manage, and evaluate changes that lead to improved and high standards of care and in particular any service changes following feedback from patients.
• Communicating, influencing, and working with the multidisciplinary team in different ways to improve quality of care, and informed clinical decisions. Promote innovation and participate in benchmarking and quality audits to measure effectiveness of current practices.
• Create a culture for learning and development that will sustain person-centred safe and effective care.
• Support junior colleagues in the provision of direct care; facilitate learning in and from practice at the same time as working alongside; or undertaking a care plan review if an when a serious incident or complaint has occurred.
• Ensure concerns raised by patients and their families are dealt with in an open, honest and transparent way, quickly and effectively, in line with trust policies, procedures and Duty of Candour legislation.
• Ensuring that accurate and timely dietetic records are maintained, monitoring standards and taking corrective action as required.
• To undertake relevant personal and professional development to meet the changing demands of the job, ensure safe practice and maintain and continuously improve specialist knowledge and skill level.
• To undertake relief, specific and other duties as relevant to the post as directed by the Lead Dietitians.

Management/Leadership

• Accountable for the direct delivery of the Dietetic service within the specialised clinical areas within Oncology and community, including referral guidelines and protocols/pathways for specific patient groups.
• Undertake other tasks or accept additional responsibilities (e.g. Student training liaison, health & safety liaison, social media lead, delegated by the Team Lead or Service Manager that contribute to the effective provision of the Dietetic Service. To undertake such other tasks and occasional relief duties as may be required from time to time by the Nutrition and Dietetic Services Manager
• Contribute to the department pay and non-pay budgets by ensuring good housekeeping, economic and sustainable use of resources.
• Work closely with Trust partners i.e. Engie, resolving any issues regarding provision of food and maintenance of the environment efficiently, and ensure staff are aware how to escalate when issues cannot be resolved.
• Research
• Contribute to a research culture within the dietetic team to identify current knowledge and deliver evidence-based care. Seek out ways to evaluate service provision to cancer patients within the Queen Alexandra catchment area disseminating locally (and nationally when opportunity presents).
• Actively contribute to local department multidisciplinary audits, represent the clinical area at governance meetings and highlight areas for change. Collect & collate service evaluation data to inform Macmillan annual report, and service development opportunities.
• To undertake the above, when necessary, as part of the neighbouring NHS Trusts.

Education

• Ensure staff, under the post-holders leadership, have an annual personal development review and set achievable objectives in line with Trust appraisal process, feeding agreed development opportunities into the department training plan.
• Create an environment that is conducive to learning and encourage team open-ness so that an evidence-based approach is utilised and applied to dietetics.
• Act as a mentor and coach for dietitians, support staff and junior team members.
• Contribute to the direct supervision of dietetic students; commit to and encourage a culture where student dietitians receive quality placements supported by coaching-style of supervision, including mentorship and teaching from the multi-professional team as appropriate. Deliver dietetic lectures to Surrey University dietetic students.
• Responsible for ensuring that Trust requirement for mandatory/essential training is completed.
• To act as an expert resource for the dietetic team, providing training and development, as well as
• representing the service at multidisciplinary meetings and cancer network meetings as required.
• To provide training and education to facilitate other professionals to take action in providing appropriate nutritional advice to patients.
• To work with the multidisciplinary team to develop and select materials e.g. diet sheets, advice sheets to ensure appropriate literature, resources for patients are available.
• Representing the service at multidisciplinary meetings such as the MND MDT, as required.

Communication and Working Relations

• Provide and receive complex, sensitive or contentious clinical and personal data/information, treating this in line with trust information governance policy.
• Use highly developed interpersonal verbal and non-verbal counselling skills to overcome significant barriers to nutritional care and in dealing with distressing diagnoses and symptoms.
• Communicate sensitively, compassionately and effectively with patients, carers, relatives and other professionals in situations that may be highly emotive; dealing with frequent exposure to distressing and emotional circumstances.
• Establish robust communication channels with other professionals to facilitate effective dietetic intervention and continuity of care, for example for enteral tube feeding, including regional working, and liaising with OG Specialist Dietitian and Community Dietetics service.
• Responsible for recording personally generated information regarding patients e.g. written and electronic records, reports and activity data in accordance with professional and local standards. To keep patient records and record information on case notes/care plans as per Department/Trust procedures.
• Concentrate while undertaking work that is not always predictable. With competing demands for attention, prioritise workload and manage interruptions relating to patient care.

Working Conditions and Effort

• May be frequently exposed to distressing circumstances (e.g. working with patients who are given distressing diagnoses, those terminally ill and their families) and/or exposed to other conditions.
• Frequent exposure to unpleasant or highly unpleasant working conditions e.g. noise levels, bodily fluids, smell.

Person Specification

Experience

Essential

• Experience as a dietitian in a clinical setting.
• Experience of acute hospital dietetics within a range of medical and surgical specialties, including enteral nutrition support.
• Evidence of recent service improvement work.
• Experience of team-working within acute dietetics

Desirable

• 1 - 2 years postgraduate experience including experience of acute hospital and/or home enteral feeding (HETF) dietetics.
• Experience of clinical or non-clinical teaching.
• Experience of facilitating student dietitian training/supervision.
• Experience of peer supervision and/or supervision of junior dietetic staff.
• Evidence of service evaluation, audit or research.
• Experience of teaching large groups.

Qualifications

Essential

• Degree/Diploma in Dietetics.
• HCPC Registered Dietitian.
• Evidence of professional development or commitment to postgraduate study.

Desirable

• Evidence of postgraduate education, training within specialist area.
• Completed PENG Clinical Update course or equivalent nutrition support qualification.
• Member of the British Dietetic Association.
• Teaching or education certificate, postgraduate training eg CNG, PENG.

Skills and Knowledge

Essential

• Competent practitioner with well developed clinical and reasoning skills.
• Able to promote role of nutrition to others.
• Able to communicate with people from a variety of backgrounds. Good interpersonal skills.
• Able to think/plan strategically and develop the role in conjunction with other dietitians, dietetic leads and various stakeholders.
• Excellent presentation skills and ability to work autonomously with individuals and groups.
• Confident communicator and multidisciplinary team worker.
• Evidence of recent service improvement work.
• Competent in use of Microsoft word, excel and outlook.
• Willing to participate in clinical supervision and contribute to team clinical governance.

Desirable

• Strong interest in nutrition support and/or oncology e.g. member of BDA Oncology specialist Group.
• Experience of partnership working.
• Motivational interviewing skills.

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).

Employer details

Employer name

Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust

Address

Queen Alexandra Hospital

Southwick Hill Road

Cosham

Portsmouth

PO6 3LY

Employer's website

https://www.porthosp.nhs.uk/work-for-us/ (Opens in a new tab)