Specialist Grade in Clinical Genetics

Job overview

We are seeking an enthusiastic, motivated, and dedicated colleague to join the Senior Medical team at the Oxford Centre for Genomic Medicine, Oxford University Hospitals (OUH) NHS Trust.

The OUH is a large teaching hospital with an active teaching and research agenda. We are seeking a colleague who shares the values of the OUH in providing excellent, compassionate care.

The successful candidate will join 13 consultants, 2 honorary consultants, 8 SpRs/ACFs and 16 genetic counsellors, with support teams including administrators, cancer triage, family history and WGS genomic practitioners.

The role offers an opportunity for an individual keen to work in general genetics, to participate in MDTs and to develop a special interest which complements those of the existing team. There is no out-of-hours on call, however the appointee will be expected to join in the daily on-call rota for urgent advice and ward reviews and may be required to work on any other site or undertake peripheral clinics as required by the OUH Trust in the future.

To gain further details of this post go to NHS Jobs via:

Jobs and placements - Oxford University Hospitals

To discuss the position further candidates are invited to contact Dr Dorothy Halliday, Clinical Lead (Tel: 01865 226024; email: [email protected]) Oxford Centre for Genomic Medicine, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust, Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre, Windmill Road, Oxford, OX3 7HE.

Main duties of the job

• The post-holder will be based at the Oxford Centre for Genomic Medicine (OxGEM) on the site of the Nuffield Orthopaedic Hospital. OxGEM is a busy regional genetics service providing genetic services to Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and part of Wiltshire. The role will include travel to peripheral clinics at district general hospitals within the region  according to the needs of the department.

The clinical work plan is based on 8.5 PA of direct clinical care (DCC) incorporating clinic and patient related activities, and 1.5 PA of supporting professional activity (SPA).

The core activity of the role is direct clinical care (DCC) related to General Clinical Genetics, with a possibility to develop a special interest.   While the post holder will spend most of their time at the OxGEM base, clinics in other OUH Hospitals will be undertaken, and the appointee will be given responsibility for providing general clinical genetics services to designated peripheral clinics or regions.

Core aspects of the role include triaging referrals, seeing cases in clinic (face to face, video and telephone consultations); telephone or letter advice to GPs and other colleagues; and follow up of genetic cases as appropriate. Other key aspects of the job include support of the mainstreaming process, engaging fully with OxGEM departmental meetings, support and training of the resident medical doctors and support to the genetic counsellors.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• The clinical work plan  is based on 8.5 PA of direct clinical care (DCC) incorporating clinic and patient related activities, and 1.5 PA of supporting professional activity (SPA). The SPA time may be increased as additional responsibilities or roles are undertaken.

OXGEM has a team of Patient pathway administrative support. Pre-clinic support is provided by a family history team. Office space will be provided, with access to a computer/laptop. IT support is available from the Trust IT support team. One of the existing consultant team will support as a mentor the new Specialist Grade Doctor joining the team.

Clinical activities

The core activity of the role is direct clinical care (DCC) related to General Clinical Genetics, with a possibility to develop a special interest.   While the post holder will spend most of their time at the OxGEM base located within the grounds of the Nuffield Orthopaedic Hospital in Headington, clinics in other OUH Hospitals will be undertaken, and the appointee will be given responsibility for providing general clinical genetics services to designated peripheral clinics or regions.

Core aspects of the role include triaging of referrals, seeing cases in clinic (which is currently offered as a blended approach of face to face, video and telephone consultations); offering telephone or letter advice to GPs and other colleagues; and follow up of genetic cases as appropriate by phone, or virtually by notes review and appropriate follow up activity. Other key aspects of the job include participation in multidisciplinary meetings with colleagues outside genetics to support the mainstreaming process and engaging fully with OxGEM departmental meetings.

Support to resident medical doctors in training: The Oxford Clinical Genetics service provides training for eight Specialist Registrar’s and ACFs. As one of the senior medical team, the postholder will participate fully in clinical supervision and education of the trainees and fellows within the department.

Out-patient clinics: An OxGEM consultant outpatient clinic would typically include separate lists for a consultant/Specialist Grade Doctor, an SpR and a genetic counsellor. Pre and post clinic support to the resident medical staff and genetic counsellor colleagues is provided by the overseeing specialist.   Genetic counsellor led clinics are also well established. A 10 PA job plan would typically include 84 clinics per year, with a mix of new patients and follow-up cases.

In-patient cover: Cover for urgent ward referrals and advice is provided on a rota basis with all senior medical staff participating, approximately on a 1 in 7 basis. There is no out of hours on-call.

Liaison with the genetics laboratory: The Oxford genetics laboratory is part of the Central and South Genomic Medical Service.    Regular review of genetic test results with laboratory scientists is facilitated through weekly joint MDT meetings.

Clinical Audit: The successful applicant would be expected to participate in medical audit. OxGEM has an active programme of regular departmental audit, and participates in South West of Britain (SWOB) regional audits and national genetic audits.

Support of mainstream clinicians. OxGem is linked with the Central and South Genomic Medical Service along with Wessex and West Midlands. The successful applicant would be expected to participate in mainstreaming activities such as teaching and training mainstream colleagues and supporting return of genomic laboratory results.

Supporting Professional Activity

The successful applicant would be given time within their job plan to participate in the department’s clinical audit programme, participate in the trust appraisal process, undertake annual job planning and undertake other clinical professional development activities to support revalidation. One core SPA is allocated and 0.5 SPA allocated for specified activities to be agreed with the Clinical Lead and subject to review.

• Teaching/Research Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust is a teaching hospital. As such OUH senior medical staff are expected to participate in programmes for teaching clinical students and training resident doctors.   Genomic teaching is provided by OxGEM for other medical specialties and health care professionals and a core component of this position is educating colleagues within the OUH and the region, as part of the mainstreaming Genomic Medicine programme. The post-holder’s contribution to teaching and training will be reviewed regularly.

OxGEM has close links with the University and is in partnership with the Oxford Biomedical Research Centre (Genomic Medicine Theme). The department has contributed substantially to recruitment to national research projects such as the DDD study, the 100,000 Genomes project, the Imagine study and the Generation study. Several team members have contributed to complementary projects generated through these studies and the department has a strong publication portfolio. The appointee will be encouraged to participate in these activities and develop a research interest.

Clinical Governance

• OxGEM has a rich programme to support clinical governance. The appointee will participate in all departmental clinical governance activities, including clinical audit, clinical effectiveness, risk management and quality improvement activities as required by the Trust, and external accrediting bodies.

Personal and Professional Development

• The post-holder will be required to keep fully up-to-date with their relevant area of practice and to demonstrate this as part of the annual appraisal process.  Professional or study leave will be granted at the discretion of the Trust, in line with the prevailing Terms and Conditions of Service, to support appropriate study, postgraduate training activities, relevant CME courses and other appropriate personal development needs. OxGEM has a regular programme of departmental team meetings and Genetics ‘Ground Rounds’.   Senior medical staff are encouraged to attend regional and national meetings to support continued professional development. A study leave budget is available, up to a certain limit, to support these activities.