Senior Clinical Nurse Specialist

Job responsibilities

Job Purpose

To provide a defined level of specialist assessment and access to interventions for transgender patients.

To be a Transgender Healthcare Professional and work as part of the service to support patients in line with the NHS England national service specification.

The role requires the post holder to be a named professional for patients and undertake both assessment and follow-up responsibilities for an identified case load of transgender and non-binary patients.

The role involves monitoring gender affirming hormones for trans male, trans female and non-binary patients.

The post holder will be part of the team providing a service to patients and, on occasions their families, including direct and indirect clinical work that supports the Medical Lead and Service Manager in developing the service.

To demonstrate active clinical and managerial leadership skills within the team, providing education and supervision, where required, to junior team members and other professionals.

Experienced registered nurse (Mental Health/Learning Disabilities or General), with current registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), and NMP qualification.

The role requires a clinician with specialist skills to assess patients needs analyse and formulate treatment plans within a multi-disciplinary framework.

The post holder works autonomously within professional guidelines and the overall framework of the services policies and procedures.

Duties and Responsibilities

Communication and Working Relationship Skills

• The post holder will communicate in a skilled and sensitive manner information concerning the assessment, formulation, and treatment plans of patients under their care.
• They will communicate effectively, orally and in writing, this highly technical, highly complex, confidential, and clinically sensitive information to professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.
• They will communicate the same type of information to patients, and their carers both paid and unpaid, in often highly emotional and stressful interactions, which may include hostility, antagonism or other distress.
• They will communicate effectively with MDT colleagues, and act as a positive contributor to the collaborative work of the team.

Analytical and Judgemental Skills

• Ability to assess trans individuals with complex and specialist mental and physical health needs.
• To independently prescribe following verification of eligibility by a Lead Clinician
• Demonstrate an ability to carry out a comprehensive assessment of health, wellbeing, and social needs.
• Collaboration and liaison skills.
• Undertake accurate record keeping.

Planning and Organisational Skills

• Ability to work on own initiative; carry our new/comprehensive assessments.
• Plan specialised nursing provision for the service and organise and chair meetings with other professionals.
• Organise own time and that of other staff; undertake discharge caseload planning and referrals to other services as required.
• Plans specialised nursing service provision and/or specialised health and education programmes; coordinates multi-disciplinary groups in specialist areas.
• Ability to manage own time by prioritising workload.

Responsibility for Patient/Client Care, Treatment and Therapy

• The post holder will provide advice concerning the assessment, care, and treatment of patients with gender incongruence. Develop specialised programmes of care.
• Undertaking the role of the Senior Clinical Nurse Specialist and hold a caseload to develop individualised care pathways, with patient involvement, whilst providing advice and guidance in relation to transgender healthcare.
• Liaising with and referring to other professionals, as appropriate within and outside of the clinic to ensure effective care and treatment for patients attending the clinic.
• Provide highly specialist advice to patients/clients, carers, relatives and other professionals
• To assess, design, implement and evaluate safe creative and effective treatments plans in collaboration with the patients diverse needs, family, and other professionals.

Responsibility for Policy and Service Development Implementation

• Follows and implements policies in own work area and proposes changes to working practices that impact beyond own area
• Participates in the developments of evidence based effective practices and policies in the service including NICE guidance.
• The duties and responsibilities of the post will be undertaken in accordance with the policies, procedures, and practices of Devon Partnership NHS Trust. It is the post holders responsibility to keep up to date with these policies and other policy documents.

Responsibility for Finance, Equipment and Other Resources

• The post holder will exercise their personal duty of care in relation to the equipment and resources of the service.

Responsibility for Human Resources, e.g. Supervision, Training, HR Advice and Management

• Demonstrate duties to new starters as appropriate.
• Provide mentorship, preceptorship, professional and clinical supervision, and support and training for two band 6 nurse specialists as well as students/newly registered staff.

Responsibility for Information Resources and Administrative Duties

• The post holder will maintain and promote the highest standards of clinical and managerial record keeping, including electronic data entry and recording, report writing and the responsible exercise of professional self-governance in accordance with professional codes of practice of the Nursing and Midwifery Council policies and procedures.
• Records personally generated information.

Responsibility for Research and Development

• Regularly undertakes research and development activity and clinical trials.
• Undertake surveys/audits as necessary to own work.

Freedom to Act

• The post holder will exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the psychological assessment, treatment, and discharge of patients from the service. They will be accountable for their own actions and their interpretation of local and national policies.
• Accountable for own professional actions, lead specialist for defined area.
• The post holder will work within the NMC code and professional guidelines in accordance with Trust policy and procedures, managing their own defined caseload and accountable for their own practice.

Any Other Specific Tasks Required

• There is an opportunity to study towards the Post Graduate Diploma in Gender Healthcare.

Experience

Essential

• - Experience of clinical working with transgender and non-binary patients.
• - Experience of individual patient case management responsibility.
• - Substantial experience of MDT working.
• - Demonstrates satisfactory clinical expertise for the banding.
• - Line management of staff.

Qualifications

Essential

• - Professional qualification (General/Mental Health/Learning Disability) to degree level or equivalent.
• - Non-Medical Prescriber.
• - Maintains current registration with NMC.
• - Willingness to undertake new clinical practices, education and training that will enhance service delivery.

Desirable

• - Relevant Masters degree or working towards.
• - Demonstrate continued professional development to maintain professional registration.
• - Training in transgender healthcare.
• - Training in gender diversity.

Knowledge and skills

Essential

• - Knowledge of the Interface of psychological and physical aspects of healthcare.
• - Experience of prescribing and/or supervising the prescription of gender affirming medical treatment.
• - Knowledge of the Trusts Non-Medical prescribing policy and local procedure.
• - Knowledge of the legal, social, and societal aspects of gender diversity.
• - Excellent interpersonal skills.
• - Ability to work as part of a team.
• - Good written/oral communication skills.
• - Good skills in assessment intervention and evaluation of patients nursing care.
• - Clinical supervision skills.
• - IT skills.
• - Reporting analysis to a range of stakeholders in a manner that is clear and easily understood.
• - Able to own problems and get involved in the solutions.
• - Ability to manage risk.
• - Ability to assess and interpret specialist acute and other patient conditions.
• - Developing short to medium term project based action plans.
• - Prioritise and adjust workload to address the changing needs of the organisation.
• - Flexible approach and ability to work independently and on own initiative as well as part of a team.
• - Ability to undertake special projects in regard to service improvement and collaborative working with other stakeholders.
• - Has the physical ability to perform the full range of nursing duties within this role.
• - Ability to work to meet the needs of the service.
• - Personal commitment to promoting equality, diversity and human rights in all aspects of service delivery.
• - High level of emotional resilience.

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.

UK Registration

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