Clinical Psychologist in Neuropsychology

Job description

Job responsibilities

• Ensure all practice complies with professional guidelines.
• The post holder will provide highly specialist neuropsychology input for patients with acquired brain injury referred to the Head Injury Therapy Unit, with input to other adult neuropsychology services if required. The post holder is expected to work largely autonomously and at an advanced and specialised clinical level in the provision of service.
• The post holder will be professionally accountable for his/her own work while obtaining supervision froma senior Clinical Neuropsychologist.
• The postholder will be expected to travel regularly throughout the locality of the HITU team and therefore access to transport is essential.
• The post holder is responsible for delivering a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment, rehabilitation and therapy service to the Head Injury Therapy Unit and the provision of relevant reports as required, accurately and in a timely fashion.
• The post holder is responsible for providing effective and timely communication at all levels (patients, families, multi-disciplinary team, referring agents and external agencies) as appropriate and according to clinical judgement, via the provision of individual sessions, the provision of formal reports and attendance at multi-professional clinical meetings.
• The post holder will liaise directly with colleagues within the service and external agencies regarding the neuropsychological issues and management of patients referred, to include medical colleagues, nursing colleagues, therapists, social services, other government agencies and employers/educational establishments as relevant.
• The post holder may be asked to present research and relevant lectures (including case studies) to the Neuroscience community, both locally and further afield, and shall thereby assist in the promotion of the Trust, the Institute of Clinical Neurosciences, and the Department.
• The post holder will make clinical decisions (e.g., diagnosis, formulation, recommendations to patient, carer, or other professionals, treatment options, intervention plans, etc.) based on evidence from a variety of sources. These sources will include, at least, the medical history, information provided during interview (by patient and/or carer), psychometric test data, behavioural observations and other relevant information. There are often no guidelines about making clinical decisions, and they must be made on a case-by-case basis, using the post holders knowledge, skills and experience. In many cases the evidence-base for making clinical decisions is poor or conflicting. As such, expert opinion may differ and the post holder must make his/her decision based on the best evidence that is available.
• The post holder will manage, plan and prioritise his or her clinical caseload under guidance from the Clinical Lead.
• The post holder will keep up to date with the evidence base for brain injury rehabilitation, advise the Clinical Lead on potential new initiative and treatment approaches, and contribute to in-house multidisciplinary training.
• The post holder will frequently come into contact with vulnerable adults and at times child protection issues may be raised. The post holder will conform to Trust guidelines and follow best principles in conjunction with the multi-disciplinary team.
• The post holder will adopt a flexible approach to managing his or her caseload, so that urgent cases can be accommodated at very short notice (e.g., same day).
• The post holder will liaise with the assistant psychologist to ensure that he/she is used most effectively in achieving the aims of the service.
• The post holder will provide supervision to assistant psychologists as required.
• The post holder will plan the monthly schedule of patients and liaise with other psychologists and the HITU multidisciplinary team to plan access to the available clinic rooms.
• The post holder will use the network drive and shared outlook calendar, to ensure that all appointments are placed on a shared electronic calendar.
• The post holder is jointly responsible for the security of psychological test materials, computers, office equipment and consumables, and ensuring that other staff members in the area (e.g., assistant psychologist) adhere to security rules (e.g., keeping test materials secure, locking doors).
• The post holder will use computer software to type short reports (e.g., for inpatients) and letters in order to expedite urgent correspondence.
• The post holder will occasionally use computer software to create spreadsheets as required to facilitate test scoring and interpretation, and data management.
• The post holder will interpret policies determined by professional ethics, and the needs of the clinical service and the directorate. He or she will decide how to implement such policies in consultation with the Clinical Lead.
• The post holder will use the IT infrastructure as required to support the efficient delivery of service, to include using video calls and shared cloud-based resources.
• The post holder is responsible for identifying needs and problems within the service provision, communicating these to the Clinical Lead and contributing to the resolution of these issues as well as to service development plans more broadly.
• The post holder may occasionally present research and relevant lectures (including case studies) to the Neuroscience community, both locally and further afield, and shall thereby assist in the promotion of the Trust and the Neuropsychology Department.

(Please refer to full Job Description attached)

Person Specification

Education/ Training / Qualifications

Essential

• HCPC registered
• Postgraduate qualification in Clinical Psychology or Clinical Neuropsychology to Masters or Doctoral level as recognised by the British Psychological Society and/ or HCPC

Special Circumstances

Essential

• Ability to meet the travel requirement of the post (i.e. possess a valid driving licence and have access to own transport)

Work Experience

Essential

• Neuropsychology placement experience within the context of Clinical Psychology training, or equivalent
• Competence providing specialist advice concerning the psychological and neuropsychological status, prognosis, and management options for patients
• Experience in assessment of patients with neurological conditions
• Experience in delivering therapeutic interventions applicable to stroke / brain injury, neurological and health conditions

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).

Employer details

Employer name

North Bristol NHS Trust

Address

Frenchay Beckspool Building

Frenchay Park Road

Bristol

BS16 1LE

Employer's website

https://www.nbt.nhs.uk (Opens in a new tab)