Clinical Practitioner Perioperative Medicine for Older People Surgery

Job overview

We are seeking a dynamic and experienced Band 7 Clinical Practitioner to join our Perioperative Care of Older People (POPS) multidisciplinary team. This is an exciting opportunity for a motivated professional passionate about improving outcomes and experiences for older people undergoing surgery and contributing to the development of a specialist, innovative and patient-centred service.

As an integral member of the POPS team, you will provide specialist clinical assessment and expertise across the surgical pathway, working closely with surgeons, anaesthetists, geriatricians, therapists, nursing teams and discharge coordinators. Assessing complex patients, identify risks, contribute to optimisation and develop individualised management plans within your scope of practice.

Providing expert input for patients experiencing frailty, multimorbidity, cognitive impairment, delirium, functional decline and complex discharge needs, supporting safe and effective perioperative care.

The successful candidate will have broad senior-level experience across surgical, medical and older people’s services, with proven ability to work autonomously. Excellent clinical assessment, decision-making, leadership, communication and organisational skills are essential, alongside a collaborative and innovative approach.

This role offers an excellent opportunity to making a meaningful contribution to high-quality perioperative care for older people.

Interview: Week of 16th November

Main duties of the job

Key responsibilities

• Undertake comprehensive clinical and frailty assessments of older surgical patients and identify opportunities for optimisation and risk reduction.
• Contribute to preoperative assessment, shared decision-making and perioperative planning for patients with complex medical and geriatric needs.
• Provide senior clinical input into the assessment and management of frailty, delirium, falls, polypharmacy and functional decline.
• Develop and implement individualised management and discharge plans in partnership with the wider MDT.
• Provide continuity of specialist POPS input throughout the surgical admission where appropriate.
• Support education, supervision and professional development of nursing, medical and AHP colleagues.
• Contribute to POPS audit, quality improvement, service development and the implementation of evidence-based practice.
• Work autonomously within professional competence, with access to senior clinical supervision from the POPS advanced practitioner and/or consultant geriatrician.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• To work as a clinically independent and autonomous practitioner within own scope of practice, to participate and manage a defined patient caseload.
• To work with the multidisciplinary team for Surgery
• To act as a source of expertise and knowledge for older patients within the Surgical Directorate, their carers and their families within UHD, within the remit of a developed clinical practitioner for older people undergoing surgery.
• To provide expert clinical older persons surgical patient care, assess patients, plan, implement and evaluate comprehensive programmes of care, providing highly specialist advice and maintaining associated records, utilising older persons developed clinical knowledge and skills specifically to support older patients within the surgical directorate. Utilising skills as high level of decision making, expert problem solving abilities, physical examination and health assessment, diagnostic testing, pharmacology and disease processes.
• To facilitate the development of advanced clinical skills and knowledge for own CPD and for other member so the Surgical Team and to meet other specific education and development needs, to meet service needs.
• To identify future requirements to ensure sustainability of reduced length of stay at UHD using quantitative and qualitative data.
• To participate and contribute to all aspects of patient/carer education for both individuals and groups, including managing surgical older persons education programmes.
• Uses developed levels of precision, dexterity, coordination and sensory skills for the provision of assessment, implementation, management and evaluation of patient care involved in the activities for practice.
• Utilises communication, knowledge, experience, training, analytical, planning, organisational and physical skills in the assessment, implementation and evaluation of all aspects of patient care.
• If in scope of practice and holds relevant qualification, advises on and or prescribes for older frail patients with surgical conditions, to contribute to safe and effective patient care by incorporating the use of Non-Medical prescribing competencies in relation to the national guidelines, evidence based practice and local Trust policies.

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

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.