Band 7 Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapist - Acute Medicine

Job overview

BAND 7 CLINICAL SPECIALIST OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST - ACUTE MEDICINE

34 hours per week

Come join our forward thinking, committed and driven Acute Medicine Therapy Team who constantly put patient care and your professional and personal development to the forefront.  We are looking for a positive, proactive clinician with specialist skills in the field of Acute Medicine to help us build a strong future for therapy and increase the profile of Occupational Therapy within this specialism.  You will have your own clinical caseload, providing advanced specialist assessments and interventions to a wide range of medical patients including palliative care, neurology, bariatric, dementia, frailty and multi-pathological conditions.  You will also provide clinical support to team members and students as well as assist in their training and development.  You will play an integral role in service development and work closely with the Team Leaders in the leadership of the team.  We are working on projects including prevention of deconditioning, pathways for frailty, neurology and palliative care to name just a few, working closely with our wider multidisciplinary team to achieve the best outcomes we can for our patients.  We are a truly integrated department inclusive of occupational therapists, physiotherapists, dietitians and assistants and have great relationships between the different disciplines and teams.

Main duties of the job

As a Band 7 Occupational Therapist, you will be responsible for your own complex caseload consisting of patients with a variety of different conditions whilst leading on the supporting/training of team members to develop within this specialist field and to manage their own caseloads.  Good prioritisation, organisational and time management skills will be needed to balance clinical and non-clinical duties.  You will be responsible for ensuring the use of advanced effective assessment skills to identify appropriate patients and to formulate, implement and evaluate individualised treatment and rehabilitation plans, some of which will be specialist in nature, based on expert analytical and clinical reasoning skills.  You will need advanced communication skills to ensure a successful multidisciplinary approach to patient care and will be in regular discussions with patients, carers, JPUH colleagues, community partners on therapy plans.  You will be responsible for other non-clinical duties such as leading on team meetings, in-service development ideas, training/supervision of students, therapy assistant practitioners and Band 5 and 6 colleagues.  This will include the use of formal appraisal documentation.  You will be key to being actively involved in the measurement and evaluation of your work and current practices through the use of evidence-based practice projects, audit and outcome measures.  Through this being able to make recommendations for and assist with change.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see the attached Job Description for more details of the main duties and responsibilities of the role.

• To plan, co-ordinate, deliver and evaluate the Therapy Service (Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy) provided to acute medicine patients including patients with multi-pathology, respiratory conditions, palliative care needs, MS, cardiac and orthopaedic conditions, and bariatric patients throughout the Trust, on a day-to-day basis.  This includes ensuring the team’s workload is appropriately prioritised and work is effectively distributed and co-ordinated across the team on a day-by-day basis
• To undertake comprehensive assessment of patients, including those with a complex presentation, using investigative, analytical and advanced clinical reasoning skills, and to formulate individualised management and treatment plans, and utilising a wide range of treatment skills and options to formulate a specialised programme of care and complex discharge planning and maintaining own records as an autonomous practitioner, prioritising own workload alongside the demands of the team
• To be professionally and legally responsible and accountable for all aspects of own work including a high standard of clinical care for the patients under your management and assist junior staff, support staff and students
• To communicate effectively with patients and carers to maximise rehabilitation potential and to ensure understanding of condition.  Communication skills of persuasion, motivation, explanation, and gaining informed consent will be used with a variety of patients.  Barriers to effective communication will regularly be evident, e.g. loss of hearing, altered perception, expressive and receptive dysphasia, pain and fear.  Many patients will lack the capacity to consent
• To be responsible for priority cases as delegated outside the scope of current post, when departmental pressures dictate (i.e. staff shortages) and to co-ordinate junior staff to do the same
• To undertake the measurement and evaluation of your work and current practices through the use of evidence-based practice projects, audit and outcome measures, either individually or with the therapy or multidisciplinary team.  Make recommendations for change
• To take a lead role in training, supervising and performance management of more junior therapy staff, assistant practitioners, assistants and undergraduate/MSc students.  This will include formal appraisal
• To take a leading role in service development
• To assume line management responsibility for selected staff including recruitment, managing attendance and wellbeing, performance, capability and disciplinary, and to take the lead role in the staff appraisal scheme for team members
• To assist the Professional Leads for Occupational Therapy and the Integrated Therapies Clinical Lead in development of the Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy Service, accepting additional roles such as representing the Integrated Therapies Department in Trust initiatives
• To demonstrate a sound understanding of clinical governance and risk management and apply to the work situation
• To be responsible for and maintain own Clinical Professional Development (CPD), actively reading around any updates/developments and incorporate them as necessary into your work
• To work a rostered seven-day service within the James Paget University Hospital or in a community health setting as required

Please watch the following videos for an insight into our Integrated Therapies Department:

Landscape version:  https://youtu.be/tklpzav7UrU.

Portrait version:  https://youtube.com/shorts/U4lwU9T1wKA?feature=share