Advanced Physiotherapy Practitioner - Pain Management

Job overview

The Integrated Musculoskeletal, Pain and Rheumatology Service (IMPReS) covers the East Lancashire footprint of Burnley, Pendle, Rossendale, Hyndburn, Ribble Valley, Blackburn and Darwen.

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced Band 8a Advanced Physiotherapy Practitioner to join our multidisciplinary Pain Management Service to support the development of a Community Pain Service.

If successful, you will be working alongside Band 7 Physiotherapists and Team Leader within the Pain Management Service, Pain Consultants, Clinical Nurse Specialists, Clinical Psychologists and Specialist Occupational Therapists, who are committed to improving the quality of life of people living with persistent pain.

Main duties of the job

As the APP you will be expected to provide clinical expertise, making decisions about the best course of action for patients' care. This will involve seeing patients potentially without prior contact with the pain management consultant. Practitioners will use their clinical-reasoning skills to undertake an assessment of the presenting problem, interpret findings, develop working and differential diagnoses, and formulate, communicate and implement management plans that take account of individuals’ needs, goals and wishes, local service availability and relevant local and national guidelines and policies.

You will enable individuals to make decisions about their care using the principles of shared decision making by helping them to identify the priorities and outcomes that are important to them. Explaining in non-technical language all available, while exploring the risks, benefits and consequences of each available option to supporting them to decide on their preferred way forward.

Provide clinical and strategic leadership within the team with responsibility for safety, quality, training and clinical governance agendas.

Lead on the development and delivery of an education programme for primary care staff focusing on the biopsychosocial assessment of musculoskeletal and pain related diseases to promote more efficient and effective use of pain management service and resource.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

ADVANCED CLINICAL PRACTICE:

To be a clinical leader in the area of expertise, demonstrating advanced knowledge and skills in interventions with patients and carers.

Takes professional responsibility as an APP, with high-level decision-making and clinical-reasoning skills to assess, diagnose and triage patients.

Manages a complex caseload (including patients with long-term conditions, comorbidities and multi-factorial needs) with supervision/mentoring as required.

Gather and synthesise information on the nature of the individual’s presenting symptoms taking account of how these relate to relevant past medical history and investigations.

Work in partnership with individuals to explore suitability of surgical intervention, addressing and seeking to allay individuals’ fears, beliefs, and concerns, seeking guidance when appropriate.

Refer for surgical opinion when appropriate, taking into consideration patients individual needs and wishes and with regard to patient’s general health status and criteria stipulated in national NICE guidance and local CCG criteria-based access and prior approval policies.

COMMUNICATION AND KEY WORKING RELATIONSHIPS:

Demonstrate effective person-centred communication skills, supporting people in making decisions, planning care or seeking to make positive changes, using a person-centred approach.

Ability to communicate complex clinical information both written and verbal, in an easily understood form, to patients, carers, and all members of the multi-disciplinary team.

Ability to deal with difficult or distressed patients and carers, conveying difficult and sometimes unwelcome information relating to clinical issues.

Demonstrate team leadership, providing clinical and emotional support for staff working in an exceptionally busy and demanding environment.

Work collaboratively with an appropriate range of multi-agency and inter-professional resources, developing, maintaining and evaluating links to manage risk and issues across organisations and settings.

Advise on local non-clinical services that individuals and their carers may benefit from accessing to help manage a musculoskeletal condition and its impact, including those relating to employment, voluntary activities, counselling services and leisure facilities.

Make appropriate referrals using appropriate documentation to other health and care professionals and agencies when this is in individuals’ best interests.

Respect and draw on colleagues’ knowledge and expertise within the multi-disciplinary team and across the IMPReS pathway. Communicating with colleagues in ways that build and sustain relationships, seeking, gathering and sharing information appropriately, efficiently and effectively to expedite and integrate individuals’ care.

LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT:

Develop and implement robust governance systems based on an understanding of the level of practice required to deliver the service and assure safe quality standards of practice for service users.

Ensure that practice is carried out in accordance with professional rules of conduct, professional standards, departmental and Trust policies, national policies and guidelines and statute.

Lead new practice and service redesign solutions in response to feedback, evaluation and need.

Act as a clinical role model, educator, coach and mentor seeking to instil and develop the confidence of the workforce.

EDUCATION, LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT:

Lead on the development and delivery of an education programme for primary care staff focusing on the biopsychosocial assessment and appropriate first line management of chronic pain conditions to promote more efficient and effective use of services and resources.

Develop a strategy for training of the physiotherapy staff to develop the knowledge and skills necessary for succession planning, creating a sustainable workforce within the organisation.

Provide professional clinical leadership through actively engaging in peer review to inform own and other’s practice, formulating and implementing strategies to act on learning and make improvements.

To maintain own continuing professional development (CPD) by engaging in self-directed learning, using a process of critical reflection to identify learning needs to maximise clinical skills and knowledge.

Maintain a portfolio of evidence or work-based learning showing how you meet all the required capabilities for working in this role e.g. completion of NHSE e learning modules.

Take a lead role in implementing a competency and capability framework, inspiring the wider team to develop competencies and capabilities through provision of work-based and inter-professional learning opportunities.

RESEARCH, AUDIT AND SERVICE EVALUATION:

To evaluate the quality of service provided by leading an annual programme of clinical audit, service evaluation and research activities, selecting and applying valid, reliable methods, then acting on the findings.

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

To analyse and interpret referral and clinical data related to the service in order to inform and advise managers on future developments.

To evaluate the local service against national and/or local standards and benchmarks.

As the Pain Management Service sits alongside other Services within an integrated model (MSK, Physiotherapy and Rheumatology Service) you will be expected to acknowledge the importance of close working relationships to assist the optimum patient pathway and provide support to colleagues within these Services for advice and education on the treatment of persistent pain patients.

The position if full time however we are happy to consider all applications, and would consider flexible working patterns to meet both individual and service needs. Our staff are warm, friendly, supportive and dedicated professionals who will make you feel very welcome.