Job responsibilities
. JOB PURPOSE
To undertake routine and more
complex clinical technical investigations, some of which may be under
supervision.
To communicate complex and sensitive
information to colleagues and other healthcare staff
. JOB DIMENSIONS
As
a biomedical scientist you will work towards becoming a fully competent
member of the departmental team. As part of the team, you will be expected to
perform a range of routine and more complex investigations some of which may
be under the supervision of more experienced biomedical scientists. Working
in different sections of the department you will gain the knowledge and
skills necessary to contribute towards the provision of an accurate and
timely service for patients. You will be expected to apply professional
judgements and specialist skills to technically complex and sometimes
difficult situations, and how to work, often under pressure, either
independently or as part of the team. Within the team you may be required to
organize the tasks of support workers. You will be required to communicate
information, often related to patient management and care, to colleagues,
healthcare staff and other organizations.
. KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE
REQUIRED
In
order to carry out the job sufficiently and effectively you will have
successfully studied for an accredited degree in biomedical sciences, or
other equivalent qualification acceptable to the Health Care Professions
Council and the Institute of Biomedical Science. You will develop your
competencies and further your knowledge in all aspects of the speciality
through practical experience, in house training and structured study subject
to the requirements of continuous professional development (CPD). In addition, basic computer skills are
essential to carry out your work.
. THE LEEDS WAY VALUES
Our
values are part of what make us different from other trusts, so we see this
as a strength, as well as a responsibility. They have been developed by our
staff and set out what they see as important to how we work. Our five values are:
Patient-centred
Collaborative
Fair
Accountable
Empowered
All
our actions and endeavours will be guided and evaluated through these values
Additionally
the following are core values which relate specifically to this post:
As
a healthcare worker dealing with sensitive (patient related) information the
importance and value of personal honesty and integrity as a commitment to
patient service and confidentiality will be recognised. You will maintain
registration with the Health Professions Council as a biomedical scientist
and abide by the HCPC standards of proficiency, assuring the quality of your
work for patients. In contributing to the quality of a technical clinical
service you will understand the requirement to continuously develop
appropriate skills and accumulate relevant knowledge whether by formal or in-
house training.
. CORE BEHAVIOURS AND SKILLS
In
order to work effectively in the role, the job holder must be able to
demonstrate a number of attributes. These abilities will include:
- to gain new knowledge through
experience, formal study and participation in relevant training schemes
- to become an integral member of a
team providing a clinical technical service
- to work independently when and as
directed by supervisors
- to communicate clearly and
effectively whether orally, graphically or electronically
- to plan the designated workload and
assist in the organization of tasks undertaken by support workers
- to work with precision and follow
accurately the documented laboratory standard operating procedures
- to operate highly complex
laboratory equipment safely and efficiently
- to input and extract patient data
from the laboratory computer system
- to interpret, validate and
authorize the results of the section
- to demonstrate relevant tasks to
others as appropriate
- to contribute actively towards the
improvement of service quality by participation in relevant discussions with
other team members
- to remain competent in established
procedures and to develop new skills as experience is accrued.
- to participate actively in the
departmental appraisal scheme
- to take account of changes in
service delivery by demonstrating a flexible approach to work
. CORE KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
As
the job holder you will acquire sufficient knowledge and understanding to:
- Carry out a range of basic and more
complex technical procedures. This will include instruction in the safe and
effective use of highly complex laboratory equipment. The level of knowledge
and understanding achieved will be consistent with that to allow you to
recognise system failures and errors. You will understand the need to report
adverse events in the event of errors and failures.
- Participate actively in
departmental internal and external quality assurance schemes. Your level of
knowledge and understanding will allow you to recognise when expected levels
of quality have not been met.
- Participate in the maintenance of a
safe working environment. This will include an awareness of the hazards
associated with your work. In addition you will be made aware of any suitable
actions to take in the event of breaches in health and safety. Such hazards
include fire, manual handling, and breaches of security, controlled and
uncontrolled exposure to chemical, biological and radioactive materials.
- Maintain patient confidentiality.
You will recognise the absolute requirement to protect sensitive information
that is related to patient care.
- Observe the requirements of
departmental policies relating to service provision, for example sample
labelling and adverse event reporting.
. PRINCIPAL DUTIES & AREAS OF
RESPONSIBILITY
- To maintain registered status as a
biomedical scientist with the Health Care Professions Council
- To perform, sometimes under
supervision, appropriate technical laboratory procedures and tasks that are
consistent with the job holders levels of knowledge, skills and experience.
- To develop competence in all
sections of the department and to perform tasks accurately and in accordance
with departmental standard operating procedures.
- To enter, manage and retrieve
patient information using the laboratory computer system.
- To communicate accurately sensitive
and complex information to users of the service in a manner that is in
accordance with departmental procedures
- To demonstrate relevant job related
tasks to new or more junior staff
- To actively participate in the
laboratory quality assurance programme
- To participate in laboratory audit
processes and support appropriate clinical trials involving the laboratory
- To contribute to general
departmental management, for instance, by assisting in the ordering, receipt
and control of consumables
This
list is not exhaustive and the changing needs of the service from time to
time may require the development of other appropriate tasks and skills. These
will be fully discussed with the post holder in advance of their
implementation.
Tasks
that are typically expected of the job holder: These differ between
specialities within pathology
Administrative
tasks include:
Entering patient demographic
information and the tests requested onto the laboratory computer system. This
information must be entered quickly and accurately so that rapid turnaround
times can be maintained.
Accepting and signing for
deliveries of stock and consumables. This requires checking deliveries
against delivery notes to ensure orders have been met
Reporting adverse events according
to Trust risk management procedures
Technical
tasks involved during processing of pathology samples include:
Assessing suitability and urgency
of pathology samples. Assigning relevant tests and investigations.
Monitoring the performance of
highly complex laboratory equipment such as automated analysers and
performing basic repairs in the event of malfunction. This may include IT
equipment
Prioritising, performing and
interpreting clinical technical investigations according to standard
operating procedures. These samples may be high risk (e.g. from patients with
HIV, TB, hepatitis) or require chain of evidence (e.g. for legal purposes) .
Authorizing the results of investigations. Examples of this work are:
- Blood grouping and cross matching
- Antibody identification
- Microscopy including fluorescent
and electron microscopy
- Operating highly complex analytical
equipment
- Identifying micro-organisms and
assessing their antibiotic susceptibility
- Epidemiological investigations such
as air sampling in operating theatres and outbreak investigations
- Molecular techniques (e.g.
polymerase chain reaction)
Communication
tasks include:
Issuing written, electronic or
verbal reports to clinicians and other practitioners. Some of these results
relate to highly sensitive patient related information such as HIV and
sexually transmitted diseases
Providing technical clinical advice
to clinicians and other practitioners. This advice will include information
relating to, for example, test selection, sample quality, and sample timing.
Providing service related
information to patients
The
Pathology Department of Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is located on
several sites.
