Job summary
The post holder will be an integral member of the adult lung multidisciplinary therapy team, and they will work particularly closely with the physiotherapists, and also support the Occupational Therapist (OT) and dietitian.
They will be responsible for supporting the therapy multidisciplinary team to provide a patient-centred service, in an efficient and cost-effective way. They will have excellent interpersonal skills and knowledge of both exercise programme creation and exercise physiology.
Main duties of the job
- Be responsible for exercise prescription and supervision for in/ outpatients with chronic respiratory conditions in face-to-face & virtual sessions.
- Prescribe and teach a range of exercise modalities (strength, cardiovascular training, flexibility & stretching).
- Monitor and review in/ outpatient progress with individualised exercise programmes.
- Lead in/outpatient exercise / nutrition classes, with support from senior staff, including class administration, provision of exercise and evaluation of classes.
- Support the wider therapy MDT e.g. OT and respiratory dietitian in completing assessments and onward referrals.
- Carry out assessments for patients post discharge from hospital, liaising closely with the MDT & feed back the outcome of assessments at team meetings.
- When delegated, carry out other clinical tasks (such as supervision of airway clearance programmes), with oversight from qualified therapists.
- Carry out clinical assessments independently such as lung spirometry, exercise testing and oxygen saturation/heart rate recordings, body composition, and interpreting these for safely exercising patients.
- Manage equipment provision and education for lung patients, with support from senior staff.
- Participate in the physiotherapy assistant weekend and public holiday service as rostered (once competencies are obtained in airway clearance and long-term rehabilitation).
About us
Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust comprises five of the UK's best known hospitals - Guy's, St Thomas', Evelina London Children's Hospital, Royal Brompton and Harefield - as well as community services in Lambeth and Southwark, all with a long history of high quality care, clinical excellence, research and innovation.
We have a long tradition of clinical and scientific achievement and - as part of King's Health Partners - we are one of England's eight academic health sciences centres, bringing together world-class clinical services, teaching and research. We have one of the National Institute for Health Research's biomedical research centres, established with King's College London in 2007, as well as dedicated clinical research facilities.Royal Brompton and Harefield hospitals joined Guy's and St Thomas' in February 2021 and is the largest specialist heart and lung centre in the UK and among the largest in Europe. We provide treatment for people with heart and lung disease, including rare and complex conditions, offering some of the most sophisticated treatment that is available anywhere in the world.
Our values help us to define and develop our culture, what we do and how we do it. It is important that we all understand and reflect these values in our work. We are:
Caring - we put patients first.
Ambitious - we innovate and strive for excellence.
Inclusive - we respect each other and work collaboratively.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Patient Care Responsibilities
- To work as a core member of the lung therapy team and effectively within the respiratory medicine/ lung Multidisciplinary Team (MDT).
- To lead and participate in physical activity and exercise assessment and interventions, either face to face, by telephone or over virtual platforms with patients under the care of the adult lung team. Treatment may be inpatient or outpatient focused, and take place in the hospital, outpatient clinics or day-case.
- To review of patients under the care of the OT and dietitian e.g. symptom management, equipment provision and education, functional rehabilitation and nutrition reviews.
- To provide technically specialised support to patients in hospital, carrying out tasks such as exercise testing, daily supervised patient exercise and/or airway clearance sessions, with direct and indirect supervision from the physiotherapy team.
- To work autonomously, performing given tasks independently, with responsibility for recognising and reporting any concerns to the physiotherapist or appropriate member of the clinical team, engaging in daily feedback.
- To demonstrate an awareness of safe practise and insight into the need for onward referral, particularly when carrying out exercise testing and exercise programmes and when lone working.
- To monitor and continually reassess patients requirements, using clinical judgement and knowledge, to progress or modify treatments effectively to meet patient goals within follow up reviews.
- To have the ability to motivate patients, promoting and encouraging engagement in physical activity.
Educational Duties
- To work under the Clinical Assistant Competency programme under the supervision of the therapists, both gaining and maintaining the required knowledge and skills in the relevant technical and clinical procedures relevant to the role.
- To develop and maintain knowledge of the speciality of chronic respiratory conditions, particularly around exercise physiology and exercise training, in addition to basic nutritional assessment and symptom management. To continuously develop practical and professional knowledge that will support the delivery of care to this group of patients.
- To be pro-active with regard to learning from physiotherapy staff, the wider MDT and other relevant staff within the Trust.
- To be responsible for and actively record own personal and professional development, and to participate in the trust appraisal scheme annually.
- To be willing to distil own knowledge and expertise to others, delivering teaching and education sessions to other staff when requested.
- To actively participate in team projects, service development and in-house training.
Please review job description document for full role responsibilities.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Patient Care Responsibilities
- To work as a core member of the lung therapy team and effectively within the respiratory medicine/ lung Multidisciplinary Team (MDT).
- To lead and participate in physical activity and exercise assessment and interventions, either face to face, by telephone or over virtual platforms with patients under the care of the adult lung team. Treatment may be inpatient or outpatient focused, and take place in the hospital, outpatient clinics or day-case.
- To review of patients under the care of the OT and dietitian e.g. symptom management, equipment provision and education, functional rehabilitation and nutrition reviews.
- To provide technically specialised support to patients in hospital, carrying out tasks such as exercise testing, daily supervised patient exercise and/or airway clearance sessions, with direct and indirect supervision from the physiotherapy team.
- To work autonomously, performing given tasks independently, with responsibility for recognising and reporting any concerns to the physiotherapist or appropriate member of the clinical team, engaging in daily feedback.
- To demonstrate an awareness of safe practise and insight into the need for onward referral, particularly when carrying out exercise testing and exercise programmes and when lone working.
- To monitor and continually reassess patients requirements, using clinical judgement and knowledge, to progress or modify treatments effectively to meet patient goals within follow up reviews.
- To have the ability to motivate patients, promoting and encouraging engagement in physical activity.
Educational Duties
- To work under the Clinical Assistant Competency programme under the supervision of the therapists, both gaining and maintaining the required knowledge and skills in the relevant technical and clinical procedures relevant to the role.
- To develop and maintain knowledge of the speciality of chronic respiratory conditions, particularly around exercise physiology and exercise training, in addition to basic nutritional assessment and symptom management. To continuously develop practical and professional knowledge that will support the delivery of care to this group of patients.
- To be pro-active with regard to learning from physiotherapy staff, the wider MDT and other relevant staff within the Trust.
- To be responsible for and actively record own personal and professional development, and to participate in the trust appraisal scheme annually.
- To be willing to distil own knowledge and expertise to others, delivering teaching and education sessions to other staff when requested.
- To actively participate in team projects, service development and in-house training.
Please review job description document for full role responsibilities.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Minimum 5 GCSEs (including Maths and English) or equivalent NVQ at level 2/3
- BTEC or two equivalent 'A' levels - to include biological sciences
- Has at least one or more of the qualifications stated above in relevant topic area such as health, care, nutrition, life sciences.
Desirable
- Foundation degree (clinical assistant practice) OR NVQ 3 in care OR formal exercise training qualification
Experience
Essential
- Good understanding of exercise physiology and pulmonary rehabilitation
- Competence in advising on exercise training programmes
- Interest in chronic respiratory disease management
- Experience of working in a team
Desirable
- Previous experience of giving presentations to small groups
- Experience of managing projects and / or carrying out audits
- Experience as a therapy assistant in a healthcare setting including medical record keeping
- Experience using computer databases and spreadsheets (e.g. Excel, Access)
Skills
Essential
- Excellent communication skills with patient/ client groups and staff using various methods of communication
- Time management
- Team working
- Teaching and training others
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Minimum 5 GCSEs (including Maths and English) or equivalent NVQ at level 2/3
- BTEC or two equivalent 'A' levels - to include biological sciences
- Has at least one or more of the qualifications stated above in relevant topic area such as health, care, nutrition, life sciences.
Desirable
- Foundation degree (clinical assistant practice) OR NVQ 3 in care OR formal exercise training qualification
Experience
Essential
- Good understanding of exercise physiology and pulmonary rehabilitation
- Competence in advising on exercise training programmes
- Interest in chronic respiratory disease management
- Experience of working in a team
Desirable
- Previous experience of giving presentations to small groups
- Experience of managing projects and / or carrying out audits
- Experience as a therapy assistant in a healthcare setting including medical record keeping
- Experience using computer databases and spreadsheets (e.g. Excel, Access)
Skills
Essential
- Excellent communication skills with patient/ client groups and staff using various methods of communication
- Time management
- Team working
- Teaching and training others
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.
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).
Additional information
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.
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).
