Advanced Clinical Practitioner

Job responsibilities

Clinical

Perform comprehensive clinical assessment and manage their own caseload of patients. Requests, performs, interprets, and follows up on diagnostics tests to support clinical decision making. Interpret and analyse virtual diagnostic test results and complete reports for community services, patients, and their GPs.

Leadership and management

Acts as a proactive clinical leader, demonstrating effective leadership skills. Promotes best practice for the patients, using standards, clinical guidelines, and research/audit findings. Develops and leads service improvement, utilising the transformation and quality improvement agenda. Acts as a resource in providing clinical leadership and advice to other teams and individuals and or other organisations, sharing knowledge and expertise. Leads on the risk management agenda for the caseload, reporting and or investigating incidents and complaints.

Education

Undertakes statutory and mandatory training as required by the Trust. Participates in the theoretical and clinical education and training of others. To develop and maintain a positive learning environment for the team by providing support, ensuring developmental requirements are addressed Ensures that own skills and competence are regularly and actively updated in the light of research, audit, and knowledge.

Research

Assists in data collection for local, national, and multi-centre research projects. Identifies areas for research and audit, liaising with the research and audit teams. Analyses audit and research findings and interprets them for practice changes. Prepares and presents reports on audit and research to the multi-disciplinary team and or corporate team

Strategic Planning

Contributes to the delivery of the Trusts AHP or Nursing & Midwifery Strategy.

Acts a member of the senior nurse or AHP team to promote the effective and efficient delivery of AHP, nursing and midwifery care at the Trust.

Attends strategic planning meetings to support the ACP role at the Trust.

Contributes to the further development of future expert roles such as the Nurse or AHP Consultants.

Operational Planning and Service Delivery

Ensures the quality, standard, and range of care provided are optimised within the available resources and in line with contract requirements.

Develops an effective and responsive organisational infrastructure capable of achieving planned objectives and incorporating control and audit systems for monitoring service performance against corporate objectives and the business plan.

Exercises duties within the corporate policies and guidelines of Milton Keynes Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

Ensures the production of Speciality Business Plans, Service Specifications, and Annual Report for the Division.

People Management and Development

Provides ongoing support to the Divisional Chief Nurse, Heads of Service and Lead ACP, deputising at meetings, internal and external to the Trust, as and when required. With the Divisional Chief Nurse, Heads of Service, Lead ACP, and Consultants develop a flexible workforce plan to include competencies required and availability of experienced staff, which anticipates changes in the service.

Please refer to the job description for further details.

We believe success lies in the diversity of our employees and are committed to promoting equality, encouraging diversity and embracing inclusion. We welcome applications from everyone interested in working for us.

MKUH is committed to equal opportunities and improving the working lives of our staff and as such we offer a range of flexible working practices.

We reserve the right to expire vacancies prior to the advertised closing date once a sufficient number of applications have been received.

MKUH uses identification scanning technology to confirm the authenticity of documents; all prospective employees of MKUH will have their original documents verified using this technology.

By applying for this role, you accept if successful, that information from your application will be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Record (ESR) system. Your personal data may be transferred from the Trust to another NHS organisation where your employment transfers within the NHS. This is in accordance with the streamlining programme which aims at saving you time and improving efficiencies within the NHS when your employment transfers.

Upon commencing employment with the Trust, all employees (except Medical & Dental Staff on national terms and conditions) are subject to a probationary period lasting a period of six months with an option to extend for a further six months to a total of 12 months.

Qualifications and knowledge

Essential

• Registered Practitioner with NMC, GOC or HCPC.
• Master's degree in ophthalmology advanced clinical practice or equivalent evidence of the 4 pillars of advanced clinical practice.
• A clinical leadership/management qualification/experience
• Ophthalmic nursing course/ Degree in Optometry/ Degree in Orthoptics.
• Postgraduate education in Ophthalmology subspeciality
• Clinical History Taking and Physical Examination training/experience.
• Evidence of autonomous practice with high level of decision making.
• Highly developed communication skills (written and verbal)
• Specialist knowledge in the service

Desirable

• Non-medical prescriber if relevant to ophthalmic subspeciality (a future requirement for Orthoptists aligned to their professional body guidelines)

Experience

Essential

• Experience in investigating serious untoward incident with follow up actions
• Experience in providing expert clinical care and advice
• Evidence of producing and presenting clinical papers/posters
• Evidence of critical thinking with regards to effective patient management.

Desirable

• Experience in clinical governance (risk management and complaints management)
• Experience of leading quality improvement initiatives and contribution to audits
• Evidence of research skills

Experience -Ophthalmology

Essential

• Extensive relevant experience at Band 7 within an extended Ophthalmology role
• Knowledge of relevant NICE Guidance, appropriate national guidance and research in ophthalmology sub-specialty
• Highly Skilled in the use of a slit lamp to carry out accurate assessment related to the sub-speciality
• Ability to interpret and analyse investigations such as optic nerve & general imaging, OCT and visual field test results
• Highly skilled in the treatment of patients with, laser, injection or those appropriate to the sub-speciality
• Gonioscopy
• Experience of consenting patients for a procedure

Desirable

• Experience of supervising and training junior staff

Skills

Essential

• Ability to seek and provide peer reviews and support
• Ability to participate on an on-call rota
• Ability to work collaboratively as part of a multidisciplinary team
• Ability to provide advice to other staff/teams
• Up-to-date knowledge of adult and child safeguarding
• Up-to-date knowledge of infection prevention and control issues
• Able to support personal resilience by seeking feedback and advice
• Able to engage patients and families in decision making
• Able to translate national guidance and guidelines into practice

Desirable

• Budgetary management experience
• Previous experience as an ACP
• Updated national initiatives on ACP

Personal Development

Essential

• Ability to be flexible, to have flair and initiative and be able to work in a team
• Motivated / positive - self-directed and committed.
• Professional image
• Have an ongoing personal development plan
• Ability to organize, priorities and coordinate work

Personal Development - Ophthalmology

Essential

• Contribute to wider education in the community and subspeciality patient support group meetings

Communication

Essential

• Excellent communication skills with colleagues and people at all levels
• Flexible approach to work
• Good listener
• Team player
• Ability to manage stressful situations, raise clinical issues and work independently to ensure the patients' needs are being met
• Ability to manage and motivate self and others

Specific requirements

Essential

• Able to perform the duties of the post with reasonable aids and adaptations

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).