Senior OT Neuro-oncology

Overview Post Title:

Senior Occupational Therapist in Neuro Oncology

Post Status:

Permanent

Department

Occupational Therapy

Location:

Beaumont Hospital, Dublin 9

Reports to:

Line Manager Title: Mr. Paul Bernard

Salary:

Appointment will be made on Senior Occupational Therapist scale (€63,912 - €75,254) at a point in line with Government pay policy.

Hours of work:

Full-time 35 Hours

Closing Date:

Position Summary:

The successful candidate will deliver an integrated expert service to meet the occupational therapy needs of our inpatient wards. He/she will join an experienced team of occupational therapists and multi-disciplinary colleagues delivering our inpatient services. The post holder will work in a dynamic team that consistently deliver safe and effective care to a complex caseload. They will work closely with the wider multidisciplinary team to focus on service improvement work. He/she will work in collaboration with the occupational therapy manager and occupational therapists in planning, co-ordinating, delivering and evaluating the wider service. The caseload will be based across more than one ward and there will be an expectation to be flexible and offer support/cover to any of the umbrella group services if required i.e. during periods of extreme demand, unexpected or unplanned leave. The OT manager welcomes informal enquiries to discuss this post.

The Occupational Therapist should abide by the Code of Ethics of the Association of Occupational Therapists of Ireland.

Responsibilities Accountability:

The senior occupational therapist is accountable to the occupational therapy manager, Beaumont Hospital.

Professionalism

• Represent the occupational therapy profession and promote the profile of occupational therapy throughout the organisation, nationally and internationally
• Demonstrate sound clinical reasoning based on experience and clinical expertise within the service area.
• Respect the values, beliefs and needs of patients and staff and include patients in decision-making processes as appropriate
• Support and delegate appropriately to occupational therapy staff working within the service area.
• Interpret standards of practice, as well as professional codes of conduct, professional and organisational policies ensuring they are incorporated into occupational therapy practice within the service area.
• Recognise when it is appropriate to refer decisions to a higher level of authority and include colleagues in the decision making process
• Promote initiatives in the service area that will ensure a high standard of professional practice development in line with improved patient care
• Demonstrate understanding and respect for the roles of all members of the MDT
• Keep up-to-date with developments within the service area in own organisation, professional body, nationally and internationally and apply to practice as appropriate
• Manage own work-life balance and support others (e.g. occupational therapists, occupational therapy assistants) with same
• Contribute professional expertise to wider organisational initiatives/ committees/steering groups at local, national and international level
• Provide specialist support to the service area staff

Managing a Caseload

• Demonstrate advanced clinical reasoning and problem solving skills in completing occupational therapy assessments and interventions with patients referred from the service areas.
• Use advanced prioritisation and planning skills to ensure patients are placed on the appropriate pathway and the timely completion of onward referrals to other services
• Demonstrate an advanced proficiency in ability to screen and prioritise patients according to clinical needs using clinical reasoning skills and providing support to all occupational therapy staff working in the COE service areas.
• Prioritise and maximise effectiveness of intervention using available resources to ensure service demands are optimally met e.g. appropriate delegation to occupational therapy colleagues and occupational therapy assistant
• Ensure collaboration with other relevant MDT colleagues for complex patient presentation to ensure holistic approach to patient care
• Balance clinical demands with other responsibilities (e.g. research, administration, service development, teaching, CPD, staff supervision) through effective time management and organisational skills

Communication

• Communicate oral and written information in a clear, concise and well-structured manner appropriate to the content and the target audience
• Build and maintain effective relationships with colleagues at clinical and management levels within the service
• Facilitate and maintain open communication within own service and department
• Promote and foster effective cross discipline communications and evaluation processes with MDT colleagues, advocating shared discharge planning for optimal patient care
• Deal constructively with obstacles and conflict to ensure patient focused decision-making within the MDT
• Build relations and links with community colleagues, working together to promote and enhance appropriate patient pathways for a seamless service
• Ensure that communication with patients and families /carers is appropriate and timely and develop written resource packs for patients/carers as indicated
• Present lectures, service evaluation, audit and research projects at local, national and international level
• Negotiate clearly and effectively with relevant stakeholders

Planning, Maintaining and Evaluating a Quality Service

• Demonstrate an advanced level of clinical knowledge and skills of various presentations and risk factors and provide senior support in decision-making for other occupational therapy staff
• Working with MDT colleagues, demonstrate excellent clinical skills in the service area, assisting with advanced diagnostic, prognostic and patient management within the service
• Demonstrate advanced knowledge of care pathways appropriate to patients attending the service and proactively work with senior MDT colleagues to design and implement processes to improve flow for patients
• Take a key role in discharge planning
• Recognise appropriate services and supports (OT, MDT and other) to optimise patient outcomes and identify the need for appropriate onward consultation or referral
• Design and implement processes and procedures to ensure the highest standards of practice are met in the Medical Rehab occupational therapy service by establishing governance systems
• Report emerging risk issues to the occupational therapy manager and other relevant senior staff within the service/umbrella group.
• Work collaboratively with the MDT to identify, plan and implement interdisciplinary practices
• Foster and lead a culture and practice of evaluating service outcomes and other data collection and implementing quality improvement initiatives as appropriate
• Develop and implement strategic service and business plans, quality initiatives, audits etc. based on up to date evidence based practice and report on outcomes in collaboration with the occupational therapy manager and other stakeholders
• Oversee, evaluate and advise the occupational therapy manager on optimal resource utilisation for effective service delivery and optimal patient and service outcomes

Leadership and Service Development

• Understand the principles of the operational management of the service and be responsible for the day-to-day management of this clinical speciality area
• Act as an expert occupational therapy clinical resource for the neuroscience MDT, occupational therapy service and students
• Promote the role of occupational therapy service in the service in the organisation and at national and international level
• Lead senior clinical decision-making processes in the service
• Identify and prioritise the requirements of the service within a constantly changing environment
• Develop guidelines for safe and effective practice in the Medical Rehab occupational therapy service
• Refine and advance occupational therapy practice in service area and develop formal links with appropriate national and international networks in any of the specialities under the umbrella group.
• Represent the occupational therapy service nationally and internationally as required
• Deputise for the occupational therapy manager in his/ her absence as required
• Explore and champion new initiatives, practices and models of care, in line with best practice, to improve the patient experience and outcome
• Seek to identify and avail of opportunities to assist with and contribute to strategic planning e.g. development of business cases
• Develop and implement new service initiatives in collaboration with appropriate stakeholders such as occupational therapy manager, MDT members etc.
• Assist the occupational therapy manager in the recruitment of staff
• Ensure that an efficient system of stock control is maintained
• Act as a role model for occupational therapy staff and staff of other professions, in the areas of clinical competence, attitude and enthusiasm of occupational therapy, being available as a resource for staff
• Collate and analyse workload statistics required for departmental purposes and for service reviews

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