Skin Clinical Nurse Specialist

Job overview

This is an exciting opportunity to work within the SkinClinical Nurse Specialist team.  Under direction from the Lead Skin Cancer Nurse Specialist you will assess, plan, implement and evaluate expert nursing care and provide support to Skin cancer patients and their carers. The post holder will have continuing responsibility for the co-ordination and organisation of individual treatment programmes throughout the illness trajectory and work to develop communication across divisional and organisational boundaries.

• Ø  Provide specialist nursing advice and psychological support to patients, carers and healthcare professionals. Ø  Acts as a resource and contributes to the education and training of other healthcare professionals as required. Ø  Contribute to service development, audit and research projects and help develop educational packages as needed.

***Preference will be given to internal Trust staff, as well as ‘Priority’ and 'At Risk' status including NHS At Risk staff throughout Devon who are able to display recent relevant experience as dictated by the Person Specification.***

Main duties of the job

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• Under direction from the Lead Nurse in Skin assess, plan and implement and evaluate expert nursing care and provide support to patients with skin cancer and their carers. The post holder will have continuing responsibility for the co-ordination and organisation of individual treatment programmes within oncology and work with teams across the MDT to develop communication across care group and organisational boundaries.
• Provide specialist nursing advice and psychological support to patients, carers, and health care professionals.
• Acts as a resource, and contributes to the education and training of other health care professionals as required.
• Contributes to service development, audit and research projects and helps develops educational packages according to need of care.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Manages his/her own caseload of patients whilst working as part of the multidisciplinary team. Communicates highly sensitive and emotive condition related information to patients, relatives. e.g. terminal illness, bereavement
• Assess new patients in the clinical area a, identifying their psychological, physiological, emotional spiritual and cultural needs in relation to their disease and proposed treatment, providing a pathway of nursing care for the patient
• Undertake follow up clinics under supervision
• If required initiate drug therapy/medication within the parameters of agreed clinical guidelines and in accordance with the legal framework you work under, to supply and prescribe medicines
• Act as patient advocate when relevant and be able to educate on all the treatment options to enable a patient to make an informed choice, negotiating with the medical team to agree a pathway of care
• Provide continuity of care throughout the patient journey and liaising across specialised areas
• Contribute to the development of specialised programmes of care and provide specialised advice, written and oral information to patients, relatives.
• Provide clinical advice and support to health care professionals within and across organisational boundaries
• To formulate individualised patient treatment care programmes in conjunction with the medical/nursing team considering o     Each patient is placed in the correct treatment protocol o              Investigations and treatments are organized as needed
• Act as a role model
• To provide support for distressed patients / carers and bereaved relatives and identifying patients at risk and referring to appropriate agencies
• Initiates changes in management of care
• Participate in case conferences in relation to future management or discharge arrangements
• Maintain accurate patient records and ensure all relevant information is documented in medical and nursing notes
• In collaboration with multidisciplinary team members assess the needs of patients, families and carer’s and provides specialist advice.
• Assist with the development of a specialised nursing service provision.
• Communicate with patients in order to properly prepare patients for their procedures and draw together feedback on the standard of service delivery.
• Promote patient participation in decision-making
• Communicate effectively with all members of the multi-disciplinary team and colleagues in primary care