Job responsibilities
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
- Be responsible for the technical and practical aspects of radiotherapy outlining (target and organ at risk volumes) for agreed sites taking due consideration of patient health status and co morbidities to include:
o Develop expert knowledge of the pathology of all relevant treatment sites and keep up to date with current and future developments in the area of expertise.
o In conjunction with the Higher Principle Clinical Scientist Adaptive Radiotherapy Lead, develop workflows and processes along with technical aspects of the adaptive service.
o When entitled to do so by the employer, undertake appropriate practitioner roles within IR(ME)R under a personal scope of practice. This is to be agreed on by employee, line management and clinical team with competence granted following a defined training framework, assessed by the clinical team.
o Provide specialist training and assessment of Radiographers, Clinical Technologists, Speciality registrars and other healthcare professionals in practical aspects of adaptive radiotherapy.
o Assist with the development, implementation and monitoring of clinical and organisational strategies within areas of expertise.
o Provide expert advice and support on local and national clinical trial quality assurance advancing and introducing best practice into the clinical workflow at the Christie NHS Foundation Trust.
- Be a leading member of the treatment planning service with respect to recruitment, appraisal, development, and discipline within the practitioner team.
o Provides professional technical leadership within their scope of practice within The Christie and across the network of radiotherapy providers.
o Participate in the management of clinical technical staff in the treatment planning group with respect to recruitment, teaching, appraisal, development, and discipline.
o Take responsibility for prioritising own workload and for allocating appropriate work to others as and when required. Organising progress of delegated work in a timely manner.
o Identify research and development projects in clinical treatment planning.
o Collaborate with medical staff and specialist Radiographers to ensure the timely progress of treatment plans and to ensure that clinical and all other requirements are achieved in the radiotherapy planning process.
o Actively participate in the application of QA programmes.
o Participate in the correct application of the Radiotherapy Physics Service ISO 9001:2015 system by participation and by assisting the Process Owners in maintaining standards and development of process improvements.
- Use specialist knowledge and specific training to act autonomously in assessing, planning, and implementing a comprehensive management plan within their defined scope of practice.
o Draw on a diverse range of knowledge in their decision-making to determine evidence-based therapeutic interventions, which will include treatment plan review and actively monitoring the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions through adaptive planning and making decisions regarding rescans and replans.
o Work in partnership with clinicians and patients to provide expert knowledge and support throughout the patient pathway including attendance at Multi-Disciplinary Treatment meetings (MDT) and by ensuring optimal target coverage through adaptive planning.
o Advanced specialist in depth knowledge of anatomy, physiology and pathology relevant to the area of work to enable accurate outlining of radiotherapy volumes required for treatment planning.
o Demonstrate continual evaluation of the patients and use expertise and professional judgement to make clinical decisions, recommending adjustments/amendments to treatment plans, in consultation with the patient and members of the multi-professional team.
o Utilise advanced communication skills to provide expertise in sensitive scenarios, apply the ethos of the employing trust confidentiality legislation.
Skills required for this post
Communication and Relationships
Be a core member of the multidisciplinary team providing expert knowledge and advice, maintaining effective communication throughout the treatment pathway.
Establish and maintain advanced communication with individuals and groups exploring complex issues relating to care options and decision making for a patients treatment plan.
Communicates highly complex information relating to specialist procedures to colleagues, senior staff within the department and across a variety of disciplines.
The post holder is required to lead negotiations, requiring tact and persuasive skills, within their service on a range of issues including:
o Changing work practices
o Areas of conflict between individuals or groups
The post holder is required to develop positive working relationships at all levels in connection with their service particularly with respect to peer review across network radiotherapy providers.
Analytical and Judgemental
Interpretation and formulation of complex technical data.
Possess the scientific skills to interpret results and form a judgement on their significance in complex clinical situations.
To contribute to the development of cost-effective technical solutions to clinical problems using professional judgement and an evidence-based approach in decision making.
Planning and Organisational
- Post holder supports the development and implementation of service wide strategic plans for adaptive radiotherapy, considering the aims and objectives of the Service / Section / Directorate / Trust and stakeholder organisations.
- Plans a complex range of activities in accordance with Trust objectives, standards, and priorities.
- Implements strategic plans developed by the various professional leads and Heads of Units.
Physical skills
- Ability to apply and adjust complex, sensitive equipment requiring the skill of hand-eye co-ordination and a high degree of precision.
- Ability to operate medical equipment safely and effectively for prolonged periods of time.
Patient care
Technical
- Take responsibility for reviewing and evaluating systematic and random variations in patient anatomy/shape during their treatment.
- Participate in the routine production of treatment plans for both highly complex and noncomplex cases, defining treatment geometry, calculating dose including distributions, and treatment delivery documentation.
- Ability to recognise and make an appropriate referral when a case is outside scope of practice following agreed processes.
- Participate in the checking of the above including complex and advancing techniques.
Physical
- Actively supports patients and their families through communicating difficult and highly complex sensitive information using a variety of advanced methods to ensure effective understanding in a timely manner.
- Ensure that accurate and appropriate written and verbal information is conveyed to the wider multi-disciplinary team to ensure effective management of patients.
- Adheres to professional code of conduct, works within the boundaries of their own scope of practice and always manage associated clinical risk effectively.
Policy and Service Development
- Implementing local, departmental and Trust policies to meet legal and statutory requirements.
- Actively involved in discussions on changes to policies within own area, which may impact across the Trust, to ensure they reflect best practice, thus maintaining and improving the quality of the services.
- Ensure new or amended protocols and procedures are correctly and uniformly implemented.
- Interprets policy and makes recommendations to steer departmental practice.
Research and Development
- Leads on local and national clinical trial quality assurance advancing and introducing best practice into the clinical workflow.
- Maintain up to date knowledge in the specialist field, using information to affect change in practice and ensuring effective dissemination of new knowledge.
- Participate in service development. Writes protocols, guidelines, and procedures for own remit which, impacts on other members of the multi-disciplinary team.
- Develops and supports the radiotherapy volume definition peer review strategy across the trust.
- Support relevant audit activity in the specialities to evaluate the effectiveness of care interventions and disseminates outcomes with any potential changes to clinical practice which improves health outcomes.
- Regularly audits own clinical practice and identifies actions to be taken from results analysis.
- Where appropriate actively participate or lead in research projects and/or support the wider multi-disciplinary team with research initiatives.
- Continue to develop and promote the advanced practitioner role through professional publications and conference papers
Effort and Environment
Physical Effort
- There is a frequent requirement to sit in a restricted position as a substantial proportion of the working time is spent using a computer.
- Performs physical examination and clinical skills regarding patient immobilisation with attendance at imaging, CT, MRI and mould room as appropriate.
- Safe moving and handling of patients into treatment position for immobilisation production as required, for CT and at treatment if appropriate to recreate initial immobilisation requirements.
Mental and Emotional Effort
- Frequent prolonged periods of concentration with frequent interruptions of an unexpected nature when required to react to clinical queries and situations arising.
- Frequent, direct and indirect exposure to highly distressing or emotional circumstances.
Working Conditions
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- Direct patient contact, delivering direct patient care in a variety of settings in accordance with the need of the patient.
- Daily extensive VDU use
- The post holder may be required to travel throughout the region and further afield in order to conduct their role effectively.
