Job responsibilities
JOB
PURPOSE
Undertake
all the professional and technical requirements of the post as a State
Registered qualified radiographer with the Health Care Professions Council
(HCPC), while working as an autonomous practitioner within Leeds Teaching
Hospitals NHS Trust Radiology Directorate.
To
perform a wide variety of specialised radiographic procedures and
examinations within and outside the X-ray department, for example on wards
and specialised operating theatres. Patients presenting for examination have
diverse backgrounds and may have complex physical and/or psychological
conditions.
To manage personal workloads, authorising
and prioritising radiological examinations as appropriate for clinical need.
To
work as a clinical specialist as part of a multi-disciplinary team providing
high standards of patient care, whilst following policies and procedures as
specified by the Radiology Management Team.
The
post holder also undertakes the supervision and specialist clinical training
of radiographer, undergraduate students and other staff as appropriate.
JOB DIMENSIONS
The
post-holder will be responsible for their own workload for a defined area or
particular patient type working on their own initiative without direct
supervision, managing their own case load. Specialist radiographers will work
within their own scope of practice as defined by the HCPC.
To
contribute to the development and delivery of an effective and responsive
radiology service.
Undertake
practical training and clinical supervision of radiographers, student
radiographers, assistant practitioners and radiographer helpers/assistants as
appropriate, according to department protocols and schemes of work.
To
assess, justify, plan, implement and evaluate a wide range of specialist
radiographic examinations and duties as an autonomous practitioner in this
specialist field.
Maintain
high level of technical and theoretical skills though personal Continual
Professional Development (CPD), in accordance with the requirements of the
HCPC.
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
CORE BEHAVIOURS AND SKILLS
To be aware of and comply with all
standards of conduct, dress codes and patients care that relates to
radiography and act within the approved guidelines of the Trust.
To act professionally and as
representatives to the radiology department and their profession.
To value team working by effective
communication.
Establish and maintain a
professional interest in teaching and learning using a variety of recourses
and media
To be aware of and participate in
research
CORE KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
Radiographers will have achieved
the range of clinical, professional and personal competencies such as below
Demonstrate and expand effective
leadership skills.
Assess, plan, implement and
evaluate the specialised clinical examination in order to produce high
quality images.
Have an understanding of the
organisational structure and working practices of this specialist area
To have a working knowledge of the
professional standards set out by the College and Society of Radiographers,
Health Professions Council and other National Standards e.g. National Service
Frameworks.
PRINCIPAL
DUTIES & AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY
Clinical
Responsibilities:
To assess clinical authorisation of
radiology referrals in line with the National Regulations, Ionising Radiation
(Medical Exposure) Regulations (IR(ME)R), 2000, Nuclear medicines and MRI
safety and local protocols as appropriate to the imaging speciality.
Act in the role of an Operator and
Practitioner*, within own scope of practice, by clinically justifying imaging
requests from the clinical information provided referring to the work areas
Protocols & Technique Guidelines as a reference if necessary.
*as defined in IRMER 2000
To work without supervision, taking
legal responsibility and accountability for all aspects of your own work.
To liaise with referral source
where clarification is required regarding selection of the most clinically
appropriate imaging examination.
To act as a point of advice for
imaging referrers.
To act as a point of reference for
patient enquiries regarding their referral, for all issues relating to
hospital attendance for example; radiation protection or MRI safety issues,
Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS), Interpretation services and freedom
of information services.
To act as a patient advocate in
radiation protection, Nuclear Medicine, drug safety and MRI safety issues.
To ensure patients have given
informed consent prior to radiographic examinations and have the knowledge to
work within a legal framework with patients who lack capacity to consent to
treatment.
Applying a high level of manual
dexterity in acquiring accurate, high quality diagnostic images, whilst
accommodating a full range of patient presentations and adapting standard
technique when necessary.
To undertake the comprehensive
assessment and appropriate examination of patients including those who
present with multiple pathologies/conditions. These patients require the use
of advanced investigative and analytical skills to select and utilise the most
appropriate approach to their imaging.
To cannulate patients and
administer medicines under appropriate clinical prescription or Patient group
directive.
Risk assess potential patient
safety issues on a case by case basis (for example MRI safety screening or
medicines administration).
The ability to work in a stressful
environment imparting contentious/difficult information on a daily basis.
The ability to deal effectively
with emotional and/or aggressive patients and/or carers on a daily basis.
This will necessitate the use of effective communication skills e.g. to
motivate and reassure
To use a range of verbal and
nonverbal communication tools to communicate effectively with patients about
their treatment and examination. This will include patients who have
difficulties in understanding or communicating
Liaise with relevant teams on
aspects of patient safety, for example, child protection team.
To operate advanced software on
specialist Radiological equipment, requiring excellent hand-eye co-ordination
and manual dexterity.
To review images and ensure that
additional images are undertaken where appropriate, prior to patient
departure from the department.
Demonstrate reflective practice
based on knowledge and skills so as to formulate and deliver diagnostic
imaging based on sound knowledge of evidence based practice and imaging
options using clinical assessment, reasoning and skills and knowledge of
other techniques.
To ensure that images are presented
for reporting purposes in a timely and accurate manner.
Identify and act upon any
abnormalities detected and those brought to you for advice, using the
appropriate system of work.
To participate in the delivery of
an out of hours service.
To ensure appropriate infection
control measures are implemented and utilised where necessary. Paying
particular attention to personal protection as well as the management of
equipment and linens contaminated by bodily fluids and where necessary seek
professional advice.
To represent the radiography
service at multi-disciplinary team meetings to ensure the delivery of a
co-ordinated multi-disciplinary service and diagnostic service.
To be responsible for a high
standard of care, comfort and clinical wellbeing of the patient, during their
examination in the any of the Radiology departments. This will involve on
occasion delivering some elements normally undertaken by nursing colleagues.
Operational
Responsibilities:
To liaise with other clinical and
non-clinical departments within the hospital and various external sources in
order to provide a quality service to patients and clinicians.
To effectively liaise with all
disciplines of staff within and outside any of the Radiology departments,
giving support when necessary.
To show initiative in being able to
provide solutions to service delivery problems, in unforeseen circumstances,
using the available resources effectively to promote smooth delivery of
service/patient care.
To provide guidance to external
users regarding the deployment of radiographic resources e.g. Theatre usage.
To participate in the safe transfer
of patients and equipment within the department and hospital, using manual
handling guidelines and risk assessments.
To communicate negotiated changes
to staff rosters to appropriate staff.
To organise personal and
departmental workload in line with clinical priorities.
To show initiative, adapt and
quickly respond to changes in service, patient or departmental need.
To report deficits in the data
integrity of the IT systems in use in Radiology & the Trust
To contribute to regular
departmental meetings.
Dissemination of information to
others.
To reflect on areas of work and
communicate areas of deficit or potential advancement.
To report clinical, non-clinical
and radiation incidents in line with Trust and departmental risk management
policies.
To assist in the training and
promotion of accurate patient and examination data into a the appropriate IT
software systems such as PACS, RIS, NBSS etc and implement back up measures
in times of system failure.
