Junior Clinical Fellow

Job overview

These are 12-month fixed term contract appointments for Clinical Fellows in Tertiary  Neonatal medicine, suitable for doctors with some paediatric experience at tier 1 level. Planned start date March 2025.

The successful applicant will have duties on the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and transitional care at Derriford Hospital. The service undertakes approximately 3500 Intensive Care and High Dependency Care days and in around 4500 Special / Transitional Care days per year. The service benefits from a team of 8 Consultant Neonatologists, 1 Nurse Consultant, 9 ANNPs, 6 ENNPs as well as a two-tier team of resident medical staff whose cover duties are exclusively to the neonatal service. The unit supports the nursing team to train as Qualified in Speciality (QIS) adhering to BAPM staffing guidance.

The SONAR South team is based within Derriford Hospital, Plymouth. The NICU at Derriford is within the same building and is a tertiary level neonatal intensive care unit. The transport team is able to deliver cooling, nitric oxide and HFOV during transfer.

Main duties of the job

Clinical:

• Management and delivery of care to local and regional neonates on delivery suite, the neonatal unit and transitional care in a tier 1 capacity.
• This is a resident post as part of a 1 in 8 rota (including nights and weekends)

Governance:

• Participating in clinical audit of service provision in keeping with key performances indices for neonatal services
• Development and implementation of clinical guidelines and protocols.
• Involvement in relevant quality improvement programmes

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Communication:

The post-holder will be an excellent communicator, compassionate, and will need to convey sensitive and sometimes distressing news to parents. The post-holder will form strong relationships with other members of the team and will be a supportive and reliable presence to other members of staff (medical, nursing and midwifery) on the team.

Patient Care:

It is anticipated that the successful candidate will have prior paediatric experience and some neonatal experience (but not necessarily tertiary NICU). The successful candidate will be expected to attend deliveries and be a competent NLS provider. They will be supported by an experienced colleague initially. They will be expected to undertake NIPE examinations and complete basic neonatal procedures (cannulation, phlebotomy, airway manoeuvres). During the post they will be supported to gain further experience in specialist neonatal procedures (longlines, intubation). The post holder will be expected to work as part of the MDT caring for patients on NICU, TCW and the post-natal ward.

Service Development and Research:

The department has an active research programme and participation is encouraged. It may be possible to be involved in part of a large study or to undertake a small research project. The fellow receives the same study leave allowance and funding as other Tier 12 doctors within the department.