Detailed job description and main responsibilities

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Clinical

To undertake all aspects of clinical duties and to carry a significant caseload of patients as an autonomous practitioner, including those with complex presentations.

To work at an advanced level and to be professionally and legally accountable for a highly-specialised patient caseload and to decide priorities for own work area, balancing other patient related and professional demands.

To be professionally and legally responsible and accountable for all aspects of own work, and of the local pathway teams’ work.  This will include the management of clinical risk, clinical governance, knowledge of indications and precautions of chosen techniques in line with national and trust clinical guidelines and protocols where they exist.

To assess patients’ capacity, gain valid and informed consent to treatment and where such capacity is lacking/absent to work within a legal framework in the management of the patient.

To undertake the comprehensive assessment and accurate diagnosis of patients including those with complex presentation, using investigative, palpatory, analytical and clinical reasoning skills.

Under supervision of the Physiotherapy Out-Patient Team Lead to request diagnostic procedures that will inform clinical decision making as appropriate to individual competency level and the job role.

To undertake physical treatment techniques utilizing highly developed manual skills.

To formulate individualized clinical management programs, utilizing a wide range of treatment skills and options to plan a highly-specialized program of care.

To use recognized outcome measures to evaluate the effect of physiotherapy interventions and ensure that treatment programs are progressing appropriately

To provide spontaneous and planned expert advice, teaching and instruction to relatives, carers, other disciplines and agencies.  To promote understanding of the aims of physiotherapy and to ensure continuation of the treatment program.  To be consulted by staff within the local pathway and the trust

To ensure accurate, comprehensive and up to date clinical records are maintained in accordance with Trust guidance and professionally agreed criteria

To identify and employ suitable verbal and non-verbal communication skills with patients where there may be barriers to understanding or the inability to accept diagnosis.  To facilitate the best possible communication outcome in every situation and use appropriate services, e.g. interpreters.

To ensure that individual practice and that of the local pathway team is patient focused and patient views are incorporated into treatment planning

To employ appropriate skills such as persuasion, motivation and negotiation to gain co-operation in the continuation of the agreed treatment program

To communicate with empathy, patient information which may be of a complex and sensitive nature including details of prognosis or disability that may be unwelcome

To receive complex patient related information from patients, relatives, carers and other professionals to effectively plan and develop individual case management

To communicate and advise regarding complex patient related information effectively to ensure collaborative working within the physiotherapy service and with other professionals across health and other agencies to ensure the delivery of a coordinated multidisciplinary service

To be integral in discharge planning including liaison with referring hospitals or community staff to which patients are discharged, providing timely discharge reports

To produce comprehensive patient related reposts for other disciplines or agencies relating to assessment findings and or treatment outcomes

To undertake an extended scope role as appropriate to the needs of the service and supervised by the  team lead (an extended scope practioner undertakes delegated responsibility on behalf of medical practioner(s) including the independent management of complete episodes of care of patients from referral to discharge)

To undertake the measurement and evaluation of work through audit, outcome measurement, the application of evidence based practice and research where appropriate.  To identify and initiate audit projects to review current clinical practice within the pathway

To facilitate the implementation and evaluation of physiotherapy clinical outcomes within a designated pathway and monitor adherence with professional and national standards

To work to Trust and Chartered Society of Physiotherapy clinical guidelines and have a good working knowledge of relevant national standards to which quality of practice should be monitored.

To raise physiotherapy staff awareness of current clinical developments and the implication these may have on clinical practice

To be accessible and provide expert clinical advice to colleagues in particular for complex case management

Once considered competent to participate in the orthopedic week-end and bank holiday roster.

To fully participate in whatever pattern of working (including 7-day rosters) is required by the service in the future

All clinical staff are accountable and responsible for their own clinical competence and should limit their actions to those for which they are deemed competent in line with guidance from their professional bodies.

Education Training and Research

To educate patients/relatives/carers regarding the nature of the condition and the aims of physiotherapy intervention

To be responsible for maintaining own competency to practice through continuing professional development activities including reflective practice, review of current research and relevant literature, maintenance of a personal portfolio and the attendance of specialist training courses as identified within a personal development plan

To participate in peer review as appropriate

To take an active role in appropriate uni professional and multi professional research initiatives

To provide regular training for designated pathway staff in local site

In collaboration with the Physiotherapy Out-Patient Team Lead, to initiate implementation of new working practices on designated site

In collaboration with the Physiotherapy Out-Patient Team Lead, to prepare, co-ordinate, participate and contribute to the delivery if a specific in-service training program for staff in the designated pathway

To train, assess and confirm competency of staff within the pathway on designated site

To undertake the tuition, supervision and performance assessment of undergraduate physiotherapy students. This will include working with universities to ensure the standard of practice and teaching meets the standards set by the degree level qualification

To provide specialist teaching and instruction to other disciplines to ensure a consistent approach to patient care

To assist / support colleagues undertaking higher education, audit and research projects

To participate in mandatory / statutory training as required by the trust and national standards

To maintain state registration with the Heath and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and to provide evidence of that registration annually upon request

Service Management

To manage day to day workload and maintain level of service within the pathway at the local site and assist other members of the team to make appropriate prioritization choices.  To ensure the effective exchange of information across the pathway team and co-ordination of service delivery

To use prioritizing and time management skills to meet the unpredictable and conflicting needs of the service

To participate in ensuring clear and open channels of communication exist within the physiotherapy pathway team.  To ensure the cascade of received information including corporate, strategic ideas to all pathway staff

To maintain communication links and collaborative working patterns with other recognized experts and networks in the specialty

To participate in, and occasionally lead physiotherapy pathway meetings and to attend staff and managerial meetings as requested by the Physiotherapy Out-Patient Team Lead and Therapy managers

To be responsible for management of informal conflicts, disagreements and complaints in the local site pathway by using highly developed negotiation skills

To ensure all incidents, accidents and complaints within the pathway are reported and documents in the appropriate timeframe and in line with Trust policy.  To ensure Therapy managers are made aware of all incidents, accidents and complaints

To monitor the quality of care provided in the designated pathway at the local site and promote a culture of evidence based practice within the team

To participate in the interpretation of professional and national standards for the specialty, recommending and implementing changes in clinical practice where indicated

To take responsibility for the regular inspection and safe use of equipment.  To advise appropriate personnel of the need to review availability of suitable resources for patient care.  To comply with Health and Safety requirements and follow the policy for safe disposal of equipment

To be aware of the cost/benefit implications in the selection and ordering of appropriate equipment to be provided to the patient for long term use as an individual and by the local pathway team

To maintain and provide accurate and timely activity information both as an individual and for the designated pathway.  To do this in accordance with local and national requirements to help inform service delivery and evaluation

To adhere to the policies and procedure of the Trust and Physiotherapy service

To undertake other duties commensurate with the grade as requested by senior physiotherapy managers