Advanced Practice Radiographer DXA Reporting

Job responsibilities

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Main Tasks & Responsibilities

Participate in reporting sessions for designated area of expertise.

Produce DXA and VFA reports to a high clinical standard: In line with Royal Osteoporosis Society Recommendations and local Trust policies and SOPs.

Assume RPS responsibilities within DXA, Radiology and ensure robust QA.

Establish and maintain effective communication with individuals and disciplines.

Develop knowledge and practice.

Contribute to service development.

Improve and maintain quality standards.

Plan, deliver and evaluate procedures and changes to the service.

Allocate, co-ordinate, monitor and assess both the individual and the team in the work environment.

Use own initiative in problem solving and decision-making regarding workflow and IRMER regulations.

Clinical Duties

Use specialist knowledge to perform examinations, interpret images and produce a final formal report on DXA scans in line with current departmental practice, to include both written and verbal communication of results.

Ensure adherence to current guidance on fracture risk assessment by adopting clinical risk assessment tools such as FRAX in accordance with NICE.

Practise in compliance with limits of own competence and professional scope of practice.

Maintain expertise in modality specific clinical practice.

Be accessible for discussion/advice on image interpretation and reports.

Work autonomously, being responsible and accountable for decisions and actions, including using professional judgement on when to seek help. Escalate findings as appropriate.

Assist in ensuring there is effective communication between the various teams who have input into the radiology services such as radiology staff, medical physics staff, clinicians, and nursing staff.

Participate in multidisciplinary, interesting clinical cases and discrepancy REALM meetings relating to clinical reporting of examinations.

Regularly undertake audit and communicate audit findings for DXA reporting within a defined scope of practice.

Communication and relationships

Develop, deliver, and facilitate DXA specific training for staff, both practical (acquisition and analysis) and theoretical (osteoporosis and falls, risk factors, treatments, etc).

Communicate effectively and in the appropriate manner with a wide range of people, ensuring understanding and compliance where necessary.

Liaise with clinical research staff to facilitate projects.

Influence the development of knowledge, ideas and work practice.

Encourage others to seek advice and solutions to problems.

Receive and communicate sensitive information in a competent, professional manner to relevant staff e.g. portering, radiology colleagues.

Ensure infection control risks are effectively communicated.

Identify and successfully manage challenging behaviours and attitudes.

Report complaints, accidents/ incidents in line with Trust policy.

Teaching/Training requirements

Maintain and continue to develop highly specialist knowledge and expertise required for the reporting of DXA scans.

Take an active role in the teaching and training of qualified radiographers and radiography/other students.

Take an active role in the teaching/training of staff from other disciplines, including medical students and junior doctors.

Act as a role model, educator, supervisor, and mentor, seeking to instil and develop the confidence of students, radiographers, radiologists, advanced clinical practitioners and any other relevant professional group.

Continue own professional development including appraisal and personal development planning.

Identify and contribute to culture of organisational learning and development and inspire the existing and future workforce.

Maintain a collaborative link with the relevant academic institutions.

Participate in the peer review process.

Have evidence of continuing professional development.

Adhere to the College of Radiographers Professional Code of Conduct.

Adhere to the Health Professions Council Standards to maintain registration.

Professional Leadership and Service Development

Provide subject matter expertise in service development and as such will propose changes to policy and service across radiology and the related disciplines.

Support Endocrinology and Radiology in their clinical trials functions.

Role model Trust values and demonstrate patient-centred care in practice.

Seek feedback from a range of areas that will aid service redesign.

Work with specialist care teams and secondary care teams involved in fall prevention, fracture liaison pathways as well as healthcare providers who prescribe medications known to have adverse effects on bone health.

Use advanced clinical expertise to provide feedback on clinical practice, and therefore improve quality and promote best practice, as well as reducing variation in imaging e.g. image quality analysis and protocol review.

Lead new practice and service redesign by being receptive to changing population needs and future-proofing the development needed within Radiology and Endocrinology.

Develop relationships and practice as part of a multi-disciplinary team and promote Radiography as a whole, and advanced practice, within the Trust and to the public.

Develop and implement robust governance systems and systematic documentation processes, keeping the need for modifications under regular review.

Research and Audit

Support colleagues undertaking research, to maintain an awareness of current and developing use of AI and opportunistic case finding.

Use expert knowledge to identify gaps in the evidence base, making a critical analysis of new evidence and its relevance, and contribute to this evidence base by participating in high quality audit and research programmes.

The post holder will support Radiographers, Medical Physicists, Engineers, Endocrinologists, Radiologists and Oncologist staff in the development of bone densitometry in radiology practice research.

Evaluate and audit own and others clinical practice and act upon those findings.

Actively identify potential need for further research to strengthen evidence for best practice.

Critically appraise the outcome of relevant research, evaluation and audit, using the results to underpin own practice and to inform that of others.

Contribute to relevant projects when asked to share specialist knowledge.

Disseminate best practice research findings and quality improvement projects through appropriate media and fora (e.g. presentations, posters and peer review research publications).

General duties

Supervision of junior radiographic staff and assistant practitioners as required.

Checking patient details prior to examination and ensuring all relevant details are on the request card as per the IR(ME)R regulations. Ensuring pregnancy is excluded in female patients of childbearing years.

Maintenance of the standards of imaging set by the department.

Ensuring that any faults in equipment, fixtures, fittings or fabric of any of the departments are recorded and notified to the appropriate persons, and complying with, and enforcing current Health and Safety and Moving and Handling regulations.

Ensure that all relevant radiation protection measures for each department are adhered to, e.g., local rules, ionising radiation regulations, IR(ME)R, departmental dose reduction strategies etc

Maintaining practices in keeping with departmental and Trust Board policies, e.g., fire regulations, patient confidentiality etc.

To work with the Radiologists, Clinical Specialist Radiographers and other senior staff in the department to review working practices and identify new ways of working and find solutions to problems.

Any other duties which, after discussion, may be requested to maintain the smooth running of the department.

Qualifications

Essential

• DCR (R) or BSc Radiography
• HPC registration
• Completion of NOS Training Scheme for Bone Densitometry

Experience

Essential

• Variety of experience in plain film radiography (DR/CR)
• Experience of independent reporting of DXA
• Experience of staff/workload management

Desirable

• Experience in a variety of other Trusts /
• Experience of working in an oncology setting
• Experience of leading a team
• Research
• Development or use of AI

Skills

Essential

• Communication skills
• Analytical skills
• Planning and organizational skills
• Team worker
• IT skills
• Ability to work under pressure
• Decision making & initiative

Desirable

• Pathway or service development/improvement skills

Knowledge

Essential

• ROS and NICE guidelines for the provision of a clinical bone densitometry service
• Practical (acquisition and analysis) and theoretical (osteoporosis and falls, risk factors, treatments, etc) knowledge of DXA.

Desirable

• Oncology knowledge and bone health as it relates to cancer patients

Other

Essential

• Reliable

Desirable

• Desire to work with patients who have cancer
• Ability to work flexibly

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).