Highly Specialist Clinical Psychologist in ICU

Job responsibilities

KR 1 Clinical and Client Care

• To develop, co-ordinate and ensure the systematic provision of a highly specialist psychology service to the ICU service of ICHT.

• To provide highly specialist psychological assessments, formulations and interventions for clients in the ICU including addressing trauma experiences associated with the admission, delirium associated with treatment, adjustment to life changing and palliative contexts, anxiety and depression interfering with treatment pathways, cognitive challenges associated with injury, disease, treatment, drug effects or congenital or acquired conditions affecting the course of the ICU stay.

• To provide culturally appropriate psychological interventions with carers or families of referred clients when required.

• To assess and monitor risk and draw up appropriate risk management plans.

KR 2 Responsibilities for team or service clinical functioning

• To take a lead in ensuring a psychologically informed framework for the ICU service.

• To take a lead in developing the team or services delivery of accessible and acceptable services to diverse local communities.

• To be proactive in challenging discrimination and support the development of culturally competent services.

• To advise other members of the service on specialist psychological care of clients.

• To liaise with referrers, GPs and other professionals concerned with clients in order to develop and review care plans.

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

• To co-ordinate and participate in meetings within ICU to ensure effective functioning of the psychology service and review when appropriate.

KR 3 Policy and service development

• To implement policies and procedures in own area of work.

• To identify any aspects of the ICU psychology service which could be improved and propose changes to practices or procedures that affect the ICU psychology service and may also affect other services.

• To initiate and implement service development projects, as agreed with clinical/professional lead.

• To participate in the ongoing implementation of new initiatives (e.g. national guidelines) across relevant services.

• To lead the consultation and engagement of service users in planning and delivering services which meet the needs of local communities.

KR 4 Care or management of resources

• To take care of, and use carefully, the Trusts equipment and physical resources.

• To ensure that the post-holder has sufficient resources by estimating future needs and requesting or ordering supplies as needed.

KR 5 Management and supervision

• To provide clinical leadership to more junior psychologists, psychotherapists and other professionals, as appropriate.

• To be responsible for the allocation and/or clinical supervision of the work of more junior psychologists.

• To supervise trainee applied psychologists within own area of specialism.

• To contribute to the appraisal of more junior psychologists, as appropriate.

• To contribute to the recruitment of more junior psychologists, as appropriate.

KR 6 Teaching and Training

• To undertake occasional teaching and training of pre and post- qualification psychologists and specialised training to other members of the MDT, assisting them with the psychological aspects of patient care and contributing to the psychological safety of the MDT

• To contribute to the development of the knowledge and skills base within the ICU service by maintaining an active awareness of current developments in psychology and by implementing knowledge gained in practice.

• To disseminate research and service evaluation findings through presentations and published articles.

KR 7 Record-keeping and Information Governance

• To ensure that all information generated by own work is recorded as required by the policies of ICHT and CNWL as appropriate, following local procedures.

• To ensure the highest standards of clinical record keeping and report writing, according to professional and Trust guidelines, including electronic data entry, in those parts of the service for which the post-holder has leadership responsibility.

KR 8 Research and development

• To initiate, undertake, support and supervise regular complex service evaluation and audits

• To keep in mind the need to document the effectiveness of the input of clinical psychology by collecting qualitative and quantitative outcomes wherever possible and assisting other staff in doing the same

• To initiate and carry out appropriate research to further the understanding of the theory and practice of ICU psychology.

• To contribute to the Clinical Health Psychology departments overall aims to gather data on the effects of psychological interventions, or the effects of the lack of intervention.

KR 9 Maintaining professional standards and continuing professional development

• To receive regular clinical and professional supervision from a more experienced psychologist according to HCPC and Trust guidelines.

• To ensure own Continuing Professional Development in line with BPS and Trust Personal Development Plan requirements and the HCPC Standards for Continuing Professional Development.

• To maintain an up-to-date knowledge of current developments in professional and clinical practice and of relevant legislation and policies.

• To comply with the HCPC Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics and Standards of Proficiency, and ensure professional development in line with these.

• To adhere to the BPSs Professional Practice Guidelines and Trust policies and procedures.

• To ensure that all psychology and psychotherapy staff for whom the post-holder has leadership responsibility, maintain professional standards and continuing professional development.

KR10 General

• To travel to the different sites of ICHT and CNWL as appropriate and to attend the weekly meetings of the Clinical Health Psychology department and other meetings between team members such as MDTs and Clinical supervisions

• To be aware of risk relating to aggressive and challenging behaviour amongst the client group, and follow trust policies relating to its management.

• To respond appropriately and professionally to emotionally distressing events such as patient deaths, family discord and distress, staff stress and grief and to support others involved in such situations.

• To attend the ICU setting in person for 80% of the working week or as negotiated with the service leads and the Head of Clinical Health Psychology.

Experience

Essential

• Evidence of having worked as a clinical specialist under supervision in an area of physical health.
• Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients with a range of psychological needs of a complex nature in health settings
• Experience of supervising assistant and trainee psychologists having completed the relevant training.
• Post-qualification experience that supports working with, and addressing issues of, diversity within local communities.
• Experience of carrying out post-doctoral research, audit or service evaluation projects.

Desirable

• Experience of work in an ICU setting or similar setting where there is a need to respond rapidly and flexibly
• Experience of working with carers

Qualifications

Essential

• Entry-level qualification in Applied Psychology (professional Doctorate, or combination of MSc plus PG Diploma level additional training) that has been accepted by the HCPC for purposes of professional registration
• Additional training in a specialised area of psychological practice through formal post-qualification training (PG Diploma or equivalent), OR a combination of specialist short courses, or an evidenced portfolio of supervised practice-based learning in a specialist area of clinical practice, assessed by an experienced clinical supervisor to be of equal level to a Postgraduate Diploma.
• Completed training course in clinical supervision.
• Registered with the HCPC as Practitioner Psychologist, and evidence of continuing professional development as required by the HCPC.

Knowledge

Essential

• Highly developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies for health psychology
• Advanced theoretical knowledge of the theory and practice of health psychology
• Advanced knowledge of psychological assessment and clinical psychometrics
• Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health issues, child and adult protection, and equalities.
• Doctoral level knowledge of psychological research methodology and complex statistical analysis.
• oKnowledge of factors affecting acceptability and accessibility of mental health care.

Desirable

• Training in EMDR or other therapies for addressing trauma
• Training in delivering mindfulness interventions to groups or individuals

Skills

Essential

• To deliver psychological therapy across cultural and other differences.
• To select and administer specialist psychological assessments, interpreting and integrating complex data that require analysis, interpretation and comparison, drawn from several sources, on which expert opinion may differ.
• To communicate skilfully and sensitively complex and sensitive information with clients, carers and colleagues overcoming barriers to communication including sensory, and emotional difficulties, cultural differences and hostility to or rejection of information.
• To plan and schedule assessment and interventions for individual clients and groups and carers, and to organise meetings such as CPAs and case reviews, and joint activities with staff of partner agencies.
• Skills in providing teaching and training to other professional groups

Abilities

Essential

• Ability to work effectively within a multi-disciplinary team, contributing to effective team functioning and holding team roles.
• Ability to manage emotionally stressful situations such as working with victims of abuse or trauma, or with people who engage in severe self-harming or aggressive behaviour.
• Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate
• Ability to develop and use complex multi-media materials for presentations in public, professional and academic meetings
• Ability to maintain concentration and to remain in restricted positions for long periods during observations, assessments and psychological interventions, and to deal with unexpected interruptions or changes during these.
• Ability to manage verbal aggression and hostility directed at self.
• Ability to manage physical aggression directed at self, including use of physical interventions as prescribed by Trust policies.

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).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).