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Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Clinical:

To interpret and analyse clinical and non-clinical facts to form accurate diagnoses in a wide range of conditions including those with a complex presentation, with occasional guidance from specialist physiotherapists

To carry out assessment, management and treatment as an autonomous practitioner to patients utilising a wide range of treatment skills and options. (This includes enhanced recovery patients as well as those with diverse, complex presentations / multi pathologies, requiring the use of moderate physical effort for several periods during a shift).

To demonstrate physical ability to carry out physiotherapy assessment and interventions including manual therapy techniques and therapeutic handling

To be able to manage potentially stressful, upsetting or emotional situations in an empathetic manner.

To formulate accurate prognoses and develop specialist programmes of care and discharge plans, using clinical reasoning skills based on sound knowledge of evidence based practice.

To evaluate patient progress, reassess and alter / progress the treatment programmes as required.

To assess a patients capacity to understand and gain valid informed consent for treatment. To work within the legal framework with patients who lack the capacity to consent or refuse treatment.

To maintain accurate written records, in line with Professional Standards.

To provide comprehensive physiotherapy progress reports and transfer letters as required.

To identify and complete timely out-patient or community physiotherapy referrals for your patients to ensure continuation in their care.

To ensure high standards of care are maintained and developed.

To co-operate with other physiotherapists in the organisation of general workload and relieve other therapists when required.

To sensitively deal with stressful and emotional situations in an empathetic manner and to manage patients who may demonstrate aggressive behaviour.

To be able to motivate and persuade others through effective communication using verbal and non–verbal skills and written information when needed.

Responsibilities:

To demonstrate highly developed dexterity, co-ordination and palpatory sensory skills for assessment and manual treatment of patients.

To represent physiotherapy and / or individual patients at multidisciplinary team meetings, ward rounds, case conferences, clinics and board round meetings as required to ensure delivery of co-ordinated care. This will include discussion of patient care / discharge planning.

To encourage health promotion by example and advise individual patients.

To maintain professional standards and codes of conduct.

To have the physical capacity to carry out physiotherapy assessment and interventions including therapeutic handling.

To demonstrate the ability to communicate, educate and advise about complex and sensitive information to patients, carers and other staff, where there may be barriers to communication e.g. Non-English speakers, those with communication disorders, impaired sight or hearing.

To ensure that effective communication and reporting takes place at all times, with appropriate hand over to and from other physiotherapists and the Multidisciplinary Team (MDT).

To ensure accurate treatment records are maintained according to CSP standards and Trust policies.

To participate in the Physiotherapy evening on-call, weekend working and late shift rotas.

Management:

To flexibly plan and organise own time, patient caseload, meetings, training and adjust plans as required according to staffing levels.

To be able to respond to changes in work patterns and frequent interruptions.

To manage clinical risk within own caseload at all times.

To assist in the planning of juniors, students and assistants timetables and deputise for the team leader in organisational duties as required.

To ensure that performance data is recorded and reported within the service timescales

To assist in the maintenance and monitoring of all equipment used by In-patient team staff.

To be responsible for competent use and maintenance reporting of all equipment, including but not limited to gym equipment, CPM, hoists, saturation monitors and patient braces/appliances, and to ensure that junior staff/students and assistants attain competency prior to use.

To be responsible for the operational management of the designated team in the absence of the team leader or as required

Education:

To provide supervision, instruction, support and appraisal for more junior physiotherapists, assistants and students as required including participation in the individual appraisal scheme of the Physiotherapy Service as allocated by the Team Leader.

To contribute to the education of patients, families, carers and other members of the multidisciplinary team as appropriate.

To be responsible for and actively record own professional development and maintain a CPD portfolio to reflect this.

To be pro-active with regard to learning from other physiotherapy staff within the department, and other MDT staff in the Trust.

To maintain and develop current knowledge of evidence based practice in musculoskeletal / orthopaedics developing specialist knowledge of particular conditions and patient types.

To keep abreast of new developments and evidenced based practice in each clinical area by use of relevant reading, attendance at in-service training, external courses and database searches.

To ensure good working knowledge of national and local standards and monitor quality as appropriate.

To undertake an evidence-based service improvement or audit project within each clinical area including presentation of the project to the wider physiotherapy team/department.

To attend and actively participate in the in-service training programme and other outside courses / lectures where relevant.

To assist in organising and actively facilitate the roll out of external courses as appropriate.

General:

To carry out assessments and treatments, with moderate physical effort on a daily basis.

To comply with the Trusts Manual Handling Policy and local therapeutic handling guidelines.

To work in an environment where the work patterns may be disrupted by frequent demands from patients, clinical staff, students and administrative support staff.

To deal sensitively with distressing or emotional circumstances regarding patient care such as realistic expectations of rehabilitation outcome.

To support juniors and less experienced members of staff when indicated in the management of challenging patients.