Clinical Psychologist – Peritoneal Services

Job responsibilities

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Clinical:

• Delivery of a specialist Clinical Psychology service for the CPOC, working as part of the team with patients, families, and other members of the team to improve patients psychological health and quality of life.
• Provide highly specialist psychological assessments for clients referred to the units, 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 clients, family members and professionals involved in the clients care.
• Formulate and implement plans for detailed and complex psychological therapeutic interventions, rehabilitation strategies or management, based on an appropriate conceptual framework, working in a range of settings including hospital outpatients and ward environments. Particular skills in delivering CBT and Cognitive Therapy are required for this post.
• Communicate sensitive, complex information to patients, carers and families, who may be in a high degree of distress, using the highest level of interpersonal skills.
• maintain a high degree of professionalism and to respect cultural diversity and be aware of the possible vulnerable and disempowered nature of clients at all times.
• Exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of clients and planning and organisation of complex activities or programmes which require the formulation and adjustment of plans. Make decisions about treatment options taking into account both theoretical and therapeutic models and highly complex factors concerning historical, physical and development processes that have shaped the individual, family or group.
• Provide highly specialised psychological expertise, advice, supervision and consultation to facilitate the effective and appropriate provision of psychological care by other professionals working with the client group. This will include attendance at multidisciplinary and/or multiagency meetings and reviews.
• Ensure that members of multidisciplinary teams receiving a service have access to a psychologically based framework for understanding clients difficulties through the provision of advice and consultations, and the dissemination of psychological research and theory.
• Undertake risk assessment and risk management for individual clients and to provide advice to other professions on psychological aspects of risk assessment and management.
• Provide information, consultation, advice and signposting to relatives and carers.
• Work at times in a hazardous environment (e.g., where there are biological hazards such as MRSA and Clostridium Difficile), which is also stressful psychologically, involving exposure to high levels of distress.
• Deliver specialised therapy adapted to a medical environment, often in challenging settings (e.g., on a medical ward with limited time & privacy).
• Act as gatekeeper to patients local mental health services where necessary, referring to such services and liaising with primary and secondary agencies over a wide geographical location as appropriate

Teaching, training, and supervision

• Provide teaching and training of professional and non-professional groups on subjects related to the mental health/psychological needs of people with physical health problems especially relating to the peritoneal oncology service as outlined below.

1. Provide training and clinical supervision to Clinical Nurse Specialists in the delivery of psychological interventions as specified in the psychological support services draft consultation to enable these staff to practice as Level Two Practitioners within the four tier model of psychological support.
2. Contribute to any training and education programmes delivered by the psycho oncology department within the cancer network.
3. Contribute to development of education and training specific to the needs of CPOC
4. Provide relevant clinical supervision to psycho oncology team members.

• Provide clinical and research placements for trainee clinical psychologists ensuring that trainees acquire the necessary skills, competencies and experience to contribute effectively to good psychological care and to contribute to the assessment and evaluation of such competencies.
• Provide pre and post qualification teaching for clinical psychologists where appropriate.
• Provide advice, consultation, and training and to other members of the teams to help ensure good psychological care of patients.
• Maintain and develop skills in the area of professional pre- and post-graduate teaching, training and clinical supervision and attend training courses and participate in other activities designed to ensure the maintenance of a high quality professional clinical contribution.
• Participate in an annual appraisal system within the knowledge and skills framework (KSF).
• In common with all clinical psychologists to receive regular clinical professional supervision from a senior clinical psychologist and, where appropriate, other senior professional colleagues.
• Provide post-qualification training (CPD) and clinical professional supervision to assistant psychologist or recently qualified clinical psychologists if appointed to the service

Management, recruitment, policy and service development

• Develop the Clinical Psychology service in CPOC, in conjunction with key members of the team to best fit the needs of the service and service users.
• Participate as a senior clinician in the development of a high quality, responsive and accessible service including advising both clinical leads and professional management on those aspects of the service where psychological and/or organisational matters need addressing in order to deliver an evidence based and guideline adherent service and care pathways.
• Exercise delegated responsibility for managing the psychological resources in the department whether in the form of additional qualified and unqualified clinical psychology staff or in the form of materials employed in the assessment and treatment of clients.
• Exercise responsibility for the systematic governance of psychological practice within the Service.
• Participate in staff recruitment, both in the short-listing process and as a member of interview panels for assistant, trainees and qualified clinical psychologists where appropriate to the service

Research and service evaluation

• Utilise theory, evidence-based literature and research to support evidence based practice in individual work and work with other team members.
• Initiate and undertake project management, including complex audit and service evaluation, with colleagues within the service to help develop service provision and improve services.
• Participate in the audit programme undertaken by the psycho oncology department and where appropriate undertake appropriate clinically relevant research
• Represent a professional viewpoint in relation to nationally accepted good practice and to ensure a high level of ethical standards and professional conduct.

Administrative Duties and Information Technology

• Undertake administrative duties appropriate to the tasks of the post including the specialised use of IT.
• Be familiar with computer use, statistical packages, email, internet, PowerPoint and electronic literature searches for clinical and research purposes.
• Maintain and promulgate the highest standards of clinical 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 British Psychological Society and Trust policies and procedures.
• Keep accurate patient records and comply with the Trust policy on confidentiality of patient records and casework.
• Ensure appropriate communication with patients, referrers and professionals from other statutory and non statutory agencies involved in work within the specialism.
• Keep activity data and other information related to work as required

General

• Ensure the development, maintenance and dissemination of the highest professional standards of practice, through active participation in internal and external CPD training and development programmes.
• Ensure the development and articulation of best practice in psychology across the service by exercising the skills of a reflexive and reflective scientist practitioner, taking parting regular professional supervision and appraisal and maintaining an active engagement with current developments in the field of clinical psychology and related disciplines.
• Maintain up to date knowledge of legislation, national and local policies and issues in relation to both the specific client group and mental health.
• Contribute positively to the effectiveness and efficiency of the teams in which they work.

To be noted:

• This is not an exhaustive list of duties and responsibilities, and the post holder may be required to undertake other duties which fall within the grade of the job, in discussion with the manager.
• This job description will be reviewed regularly in the light of changing service requirements and any such changes will be discussed with the post holder.
• The post holder is expected to comply with all relevant Trust policies, procedures and guidelines, including those relating to Equal Opportunities, Health and Safety, risk management and Confidentiality of Information.

Qualifications

Essential

• Professional qualification in Clinical Psychology at doctoral level (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996) as accredited by the BPS
• Registration as a clinical psychologist with the HCPC

Desirable

• Recognized supervision training
• Post-doctoral training in one or more additional specialized areas of psychological relevance (e.g. within physical health)

Experience

Essential

• Considerable experience of working as a clinical psychologist, in relevant settings and services, e.g. physical health and/or oncology services
• Experience in assessment and therapeutic work with adults with mental health/psychological needs in the setting of physical health problems, especially in the delivery of CBT and Cognitive Therapy
• Experience in bereavement work
• Experience in psychosexual therapy
• Experience of maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, Experience of exercising full clinical responsibility for clients' psychological care and treatment, within the context of multidisciplinary care
• Experience of representing clinical psychology in multidisciplinary settings

Desirable

• Experience of working in colorectal cancer services
• Experience of providing supervision (professional / clinical), teaching and / or training
• Experience of the application of psychology in different cultural contexts
• Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the life span and presenting with the full range of clinical severity across the full range of care settings including outpatient, community, in-patient
• Experience of applying legislation and national guidance in relation to the physical health specialism

Skills

Essential

• Skills in the use of complex and specialised methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management, especially in the delivery of CBT/Cognitive Therapy
• Ability to sustain intense concentration for client interviews, multidisciplinary case discussion, formulation and interventions.
• Highly developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, highly technical, and clinically sensitive information to clients, their families and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS
• Ability to organise time effectively, use own initiative and to work under supervision where appropriate
• Skills in providing consultation to other professionals and non-professional groups
• Ability to work effectively within a multi-disciplinary team and to liaise effectively with other professionals
• Familiarity with computer use, statistical packages, email, internet, PowerPoint, and electronic literature searches

Desirable

• Skills in the supervision of other psychologists

Knowledge

Essential

• Evidence of CPD as recommended by BPS & KSF
• Knowledge of the theory and practice of highly specialised psychological therapies and assessment methodologies

Desirable

• Doctoral level knowledge of research design and methodology, including complex multivariate data analysis as practiced within the field of clinical psychology

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).