Macmillan Head and Neck Clinical Nurse Specialist

Job overview

Macmillan Clinical Nurse Specialist for Head and Neck Cancers

Band 7  -  18.75 hours, permanent post

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Registered Nurse with a high level of experience working with Head and Neck cancers to become part of the Cancer services team.  The post holder will be expected to provide early input of specialist head and neck cancer nursing, assessment and provide clinical management advice for head and neck cancer admissions across the Trust. They will play a key role within the head and neck multidisciplinary team, working alongside clinicians supporting patients in outpatients and inpatient settings with both clinical and holistic care. They will be a key educational resource and participate in the education of the multi-disciplinary team in aspects of head and neck cancer trust wide.

We want you to be a passionate and empathetic individual, with strong communication skills and experience of supporting people with head and neck cancer.  The successful applicant will act as the first point of clinical engagement for patients and their families when referred into the Trust with a suspected head and neck cancer. The post holder will be responsible for delivering specialised cancer nursing service to support cancer patients newly diagnosed with head and neck cancers.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will be responsible for giving advice and education to patients diagnosed with Head & Neck cancer. Including support patients undergoing curative/palliative chemo-radiotherapy to the head & neck, and those with metastatic disease. The post holder will be exposed to complex airway management (tracheostomy/laryngectomy) and will have previous experience and be trained/proficient to change tracheostomy tubes/speaking valves, as well as experience of wounds and willingness to learn how to manage this specialised area of head & neck and demonstrate their ability to educate and teach junior colleagues. To provide patients and staff with specialist advice to manage complex symptoms Develop, improve, and promote the service ensuring the delivery of high quality, cost effective care utilising the support and guidance of senior colleagues. Develop and share expertise within the multidisciplinary team Develop the skills to act as a resource in the care of patient’s needs, ensuring an optimum level of service to patients and their carers Work closely with community and relevant network, other hospital and community staff to ensure an effective seamless service. To provide effective communication systems of support for patients. Ensure patients and families are aware of all treatment options, including clinical trials. Work as patient advocate, to help negotiate the patient journey to ensure optimum care is provided to the patient.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The job description gives an overview of the main tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specifications focusses on the qualifications, skills, experience and knowledge required. These documents are attached on the page and can be downloaded.

The person specification below is not the full person specification, but outlines the criteria against which your application form will be assessed.