Assistant Practitioner - Breast Research

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an Assistant Practitioner within the Breast Research Team at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust. The post holder will be based in Chelsea.

The Royal Marsden is a world leader in cancer research, treatment, and education. Together with our academic partner, The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), we are the largest comprehensive cancer centre in Europe and the only National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) specialising in cancer in the UK.

We are looking for enthusiastic and self-motivated team members to work alongside the Research Nursing team on our new and existing studies contributing to the ground-breaking research run out of this unit.

Main duties of the job

The Assistant Practitioner is an essential valued member of the unit team appointed to support Registered Nurses (RN) in the delivery of patient care. The role involves contact on a physical and psychological level with patients and their families. The post holder will undertake a range of activities under the supervision of a registered nurse, having been assessed and deemed competent in the activities required.

As part of a multidisciplinary team the post holder will contribute to the efficient service provision by providing clerical, clinical and sample processing support and will take a lead on the handling and storage of tissue samples and survival follow up of long-term clinical trials.

The post holder will carry out assigned duties under direct and indirect supervision of senior nursing staff, assisting in the provision of routine clinical and research care for research participants. They will also provide, a safe environment for the treatment of patients and protection of staff.

Clinical tasks undertaken by the AP will be within their sphere of competence and in line with trust policies. The research nurse team leader will be responsible for ensuring competency is achieved and maintained and as such clinical tasks to be undertaken will therefore be specific to the clinical area.

Continuous professional development is encouraged. Working as a highly valued member of the MDT, we support further study opportunities.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

For further information on this role, please see the attached detailed Job Description and Person Specification:

These responsibilities will be carried out under the guidance of the research nurse:

• To carry out in a responsible and efficient way, the care for patients which has been drawn up in conjunction with the research team.
• To demonstrate the ability to develop a greater awareness and understanding of the needs of patients with cancer and the different treatment modalities
• As an integral member of the nursing team, work with team members to ensure the maintenance of an efficient, safe, clean, and pleasant environment for all patients.
• Maintain compassion, empathy, dignity, comfort, and sensitivity of patients and their relatives at all times
• Monitor and record patients’ vital signs (including blood pressure, pulse, temperature, oxygen saturation) and report any abnormal results to registered nursing staff.
• Measure and record patients’ height and weight
• Perform venous blood sampling

Applicant requirements

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.