Trainee Sleep Physiologist

Job overview

Are you passionate about delivering high quality, diagnostics & treatment to patients? Do you thrive in a challenging environment? Would you enjoy learning new skills?

A unique prospect has become available for an enthusiastic and highly motivated person to join the sleep service at the Leicester General Hospital. We are excited to work with a Sleep Physiologist who can demonstrate high levels of technical ability, clinical understanding whilst striving to optimise the patient experience and putting them at the heart of what we do.

Ideally the post holder would be already working as a sleep physiologist at band 6 or band 5 with significant experience of working within a sleep laboratory.  To be considered, the post holder would need to hold a BSc in a relevant science subject or equivalent.

Main duties of the job

Within the sleep service we support a range of clinics including;

• CPAP initiation
• CPAP technical follow up clinics
• Full Polysomnography (PSG)
• Multiple sleep latency tests (MSLT)

Diagnostic tests such as;

• Home sleep study tests (HSS)
• WatchPAT (WPAT)
• Oximetry
• Actigraphy

The post holder will be trained in all of the above. It is expected that the post holder should be signed off on core competencies 18 months from starting and all other competencies 24 months after starting in post.

In addition to the above, the post holder will be involved in helping to further develop the service provided, assisting in departmental  standards of practice (SOP) and guidelines. The post holder will also be required to supervise and train staff and students within the hospital and those visiting on clinical placement.

Once fully signed off on competencies, the post will be uplifted to a band 6 at which time the expectation would be that you would assist the senior physiologist in management duties such as appraisals, mentoring trainees and adopting the 'Tech in Charge' role.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• To ensure high quality patient care is delivered as per service requirements.
• Establish and maintain effective communication with patients and carers/ relatives.
• Recognise, prioritise and respond appropriately to urgent and emergency situations.
• Work collaboratively with other professionals to ensure needs are met in relation to care input.
• Collect, collate and accurately report patient information, maintaining complete and accurate care delivery records.
• Follow guidelines meticulously during diagnostic tests: HSS. WPAT, Actigraphy, Pulse Oximetry, PSG, MSLT set ups
• Follow AASM guidelines and training during scoring (analysis) of diagnostic studies, to ensure results are reliable. Reporting any queries or concerns to the Consultant Physiologist or Senior staff members.
• Run clinics in a timely manner as per guidelines and service requirements.
• Initiate CPAP therapy as per Consultant Physiologist/Sleep Consultant request. Ensure that patients understand the purpose of the therapy, engaging with the patient throughout the initiation appointment. Demonstrate appropriate knowledge in relation to CPAP therapy.
• Utilise effective communication skills to assist patients having queries regarding CPAP therapy and equipment, be it in person or over the telephone.
• Utilise and update Airview; update CPAP and HSS database appropriately.

please see job description/person specification for further details on the role