Job summary
An exciting opportunity is available to join the Oncology & Palliative Care specialties at North Middlesex University Hospital which is part of the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, a Consultant Psychologist led service.
This post would suit a Lead Practitioner Psychologist in Oncology with experience of working within physical health settings/medical teams, ideally with experience of the specific needs of patients using Oncology & Palliative Care services. An interest in working collaboratively with others to promote psychologically informed practice and care would be crucial. The role will provide a variety of opportunities that can support career development, including experience of leading, pathway development work, project management and consultancy.
Main duties of the job
The post holder will likely be based at North Middlesex University Hospital. The role will initially be focused on the provision of inpatient care and outpatient work. Teaching, supervision and support to nursing colleagues to promote psychologically informed care and interventions within the oncology and palliative care specialities will be another part of this role. The post holder will also have supervisory responsibilities for a trainee and potentially more junior qualified staff in the future.
To provide highly specialist psychological assessments of service users within a highly specialised clinical setting referred by cancer teams based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex psychological data from a variety of sources including psychological and neuropsychological tests, self-report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations and semi-structured interviews with service users, family members and others involved in the service user's care.
To formulate and implement plans for the formal psychological treatment and/or management of a service user's mental health problems, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of the service user's problems, and employing methods of proven efficacy, across the full range of care settings.
About us
North Mid is part of North Central London integrated care system - consisting of the NHS and Local authority organisations in Camden, Islington, Barnet, Enfield and Haringey. As with other ICS's, we are working increasingly closely with partners and indeed many of our financial and performance objectives are measured at this system level. Whilst all organisations remain as standalone, statutory bodies we have an ICS infrastructure for making shared decisions and agreeing shared approaches.
We are proud of our staff and want to ensure their training allows them to provide excellent clinical care. We are also a training unit for medical students from UCL and St George's University Grenada, and for nursing and midwifery students from Middlesex and City Universities.
Take a tour of our hospital here
Job description
Job responsibilities
To provide expert knowledge and guidance regarding psychological issues relating to the care of patients in oncology services
To manage the referral pathways and information databases as needed for the operational running of the North Middlesex Oncology Psychology Service
To provide highly specialist psychological assessments of patients referred to the oncology psychology team, based on the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex data from a variety of sources including psychological self-report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations and semi-structured interviews with patients, family members and other professionals involved in a patients care.
To formulate plans for psychological treatment and/or management, drawing on appropriate conceptual frameworks and employing methods based upon evidence of efficacy, across the range of care settings and physical health problems; adjusting and refining psychological formulations drawing upon different explanatory models and maintaining several provisional hypotheses.
To make highly skilled evaluations and decisions about treatment options taking into account both theoretical and therapeutic models and highly complex factors concerning historical processes and physical ill-health or cognitive changes.
To be responsible for implementing or supporting access to a range of psychological interventions for individuals and groups for patients where psychological distress, mental health co-morbidities or cognitive functioning are impacting engagement with care and rehabilitation or affecting relationships with the care system. Therapy approaches will include cognitive behavioural therapy (including third wave therapies such as ACT and CFT), trauma informed and systemic approaches, and motivational interviewing.
To ensure that psychological interventions management strategies contribute to a coherent optimal package of care.
To provide expertise and specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to the patients formulation, diagnosis, treatment and discharge plan.
To ensure that all members of the clinical MDT have access to psychologically based framework for the understanding and care of patients, through the provision of advice and consultation on the dissemination of psychological knowledge, research and theory.
To provide expertise and advice to facilitate the effective and appropriate provision of psychological care by all members of the team.
Job description
Job responsibilities
To provide expert knowledge and guidance regarding psychological issues relating to the care of patients in oncology services
To manage the referral pathways and information databases as needed for the operational running of the North Middlesex Oncology Psychology Service
To provide highly specialist psychological assessments of patients referred to the oncology psychology team, based on the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex data from a variety of sources including psychological self-report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations and semi-structured interviews with patients, family members and other professionals involved in a patients care.
To formulate plans for psychological treatment and/or management, drawing on appropriate conceptual frameworks and employing methods based upon evidence of efficacy, across the range of care settings and physical health problems; adjusting and refining psychological formulations drawing upon different explanatory models and maintaining several provisional hypotheses.
To make highly skilled evaluations and decisions about treatment options taking into account both theoretical and therapeutic models and highly complex factors concerning historical processes and physical ill-health or cognitive changes.
To be responsible for implementing or supporting access to a range of psychological interventions for individuals and groups for patients where psychological distress, mental health co-morbidities or cognitive functioning are impacting engagement with care and rehabilitation or affecting relationships with the care system. Therapy approaches will include cognitive behavioural therapy (including third wave therapies such as ACT and CFT), trauma informed and systemic approaches, and motivational interviewing.
To ensure that psychological interventions management strategies contribute to a coherent optimal package of care.
To provide expertise and specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to the patients formulation, diagnosis, treatment and discharge plan.
To ensure that all members of the clinical MDT have access to psychologically based framework for the understanding and care of patients, through the provision of advice and consultation on the dissemination of psychological knowledge, research and theory.
To provide expertise and advice to facilitate the effective and appropriate provision of psychological care by all members of the team.
Person Specification
Education & professional Qualifications
Essential
- Post-graduate doctoral level training in clinical or counselling psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 2000) as accredited by the British Psychological Society, or British Psychological Society Statement of Equivalence.
- HCPC registration as Practitioner Psychologist.
- Post-doctoral training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice.
Experience
Essential
- Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients across the full range of care settings, including community, primary care, outpatient and inpatient settings.
- Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course and presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity.
- Evidence of post-qualification supervised clinical experience in therapeutic intervention and management of patients under oncology and palliative care services, using assessment and intervention techniques at a specialist level.
- Post-qualification experience of work within interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary environments.
- Post-qualification experience of working delivering group interventions in a physical health setting, ideally within oncology or palliative care
- Experience of teaching, training and/or supervision of other qualified Clinical Psychologists and other professional disciplines, ideally including experience of delivery level 2 psychological support skills and other training of oncology staff.
- Experience of the application of psychology in different cultural contexts.
- Experience in leading case conferences, complex case discussions or other patient-focused meetings.
Skills and aptitudes
Essential
- Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management.
- Knowledge of at least two relevant theoretical models and psychological interventions relevant to the care of patients with persistent pain.
- Highly skilled in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.
- Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups.
- Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology, research design and quantitative data analysis as practiced within the clinical fields of psychology.
- Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health.
- Evidence of continuing professional development as required by the British Psychological Society/HCPC.
- Formal training and/or experience in supervision of other psychologists.
- Ability to form good working relationships with others in a multidisciplinary setting.
- Experience in service development, leadership and management.
- Knowledge of the theory and practice of group interventions and skills in engaging patients in group interventions
Desirable
- High level knowledge of the theory and practice of at least two specialised psychological therapies.
- Familiarity with SPSS databases and statistical package.
Personal Qualities & attributes
Essential
- Excellent interpersonal communication skills.
- Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
- Ability to take responsibility for the work of others.
- Ability to teach and train others, using a variety of multi-media materials suitable for presentations within public, professional and academic settings.
Person Specification
Education & professional Qualifications
Essential
- Post-graduate doctoral level training in clinical or counselling psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 2000) as accredited by the British Psychological Society, or British Psychological Society Statement of Equivalence.
- HCPC registration as Practitioner Psychologist.
- Post-doctoral training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice.
Experience
Essential
- Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients across the full range of care settings, including community, primary care, outpatient and inpatient settings.
- Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course and presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity.
- Evidence of post-qualification supervised clinical experience in therapeutic intervention and management of patients under oncology and palliative care services, using assessment and intervention techniques at a specialist level.
- Post-qualification experience of work within interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary environments.
- Post-qualification experience of working delivering group interventions in a physical health setting, ideally within oncology or palliative care
- Experience of teaching, training and/or supervision of other qualified Clinical Psychologists and other professional disciplines, ideally including experience of delivery level 2 psychological support skills and other training of oncology staff.
- Experience of the application of psychology in different cultural contexts.
- Experience in leading case conferences, complex case discussions or other patient-focused meetings.
Skills and aptitudes
Essential
- Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management.
- Knowledge of at least two relevant theoretical models and psychological interventions relevant to the care of patients with persistent pain.
- Highly skilled in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.
- Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups.
- Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology, research design and quantitative data analysis as practiced within the clinical fields of psychology.
- Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health.
- Evidence of continuing professional development as required by the British Psychological Society/HCPC.
- Formal training and/or experience in supervision of other psychologists.
- Ability to form good working relationships with others in a multidisciplinary setting.
- Experience in service development, leadership and management.
- Knowledge of the theory and practice of group interventions and skills in engaging patients in group interventions
Desirable
- High level knowledge of the theory and practice of at least two specialised psychological therapies.
- Familiarity with SPSS databases and statistical package.
Personal Qualities & attributes
Essential
- Excellent interpersonal communication skills.
- Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
- Ability to take responsibility for the work of others.
- Ability to teach and train others, using a variety of multi-media materials suitable for presentations within public, professional and academic settings.
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.
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).
Additional information
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.
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).
