Principal Clinical Scientist

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

1. General

1. Act as required in the role of Medical Physics Expert (MPE) under IR(ME)R, providing expert advice to other professional groups on both patient specific issues and on matters of clinical service provision and development.
2. Carry the physics bleep on a rotational basis to act as contact point (frequently on their own) for technical queries and to give scientific advice in individual technical and clinical cases.
3. Ensure all work they carry out complies with current UK legislation for work with ionizing radiation (IRR 2017, IRMER 2017) and the Trust\’s ISO 9001-2015-compliant quality system for provision of radiotherapy.
4. The post holder must be and must remain registered as a clinical scientist and complete an agreed scheme of continuing professional development (CPD).
5. Provide specialist technical advice within the trust for the procurement of high capital value complex clinical equipment.
6. The place of work is normally The Christie in Withington, but the post holder may be required to carry out work at other local hospitals with a radiotherapy service.
7. The post is full-time. Hours are worked flexibly, in agreement with the line manager, to provide round the clock services where necessary to cover the normal range of clinical duties.

2. Management

1. Deputise for Consultant Clinical Scientists where appropriate.
2. Supervise and roster clinical duties of clinical scientists.
3. Participate in workforce development i.e. recruitment and appraisal.
4. Undertake project management and analysis.
5. Prioritise and manage project work flow in accordance with section policies and competing service demands. Propose changes to working practices and procedures.
6. Develop systems, including software, to increase the efficiency of processes/procedures to reduce delays in treatment and make best use of staff resources.
7. Manage the commissioning process for new and developing equipment as required and develop an appropriate QA program within the Trust\’s quality system.
8. Negotiate with clinical and technical staff and equipment manufacturers to provide all necessary support for equipment, resulting in maximum clinical usage of equipment.
9. Contribute to the scientific management and provision of a proton imaging, planning and treatment delivery service to the radiotherapy department across the Christie network to ensure the accuracy and safe delivery of treatments and compliance with clinical requirements.
10. Liaise with the group leader, section leader and radiation protection advisor in the investigation and reporting of any case of suspected or actual mistreatment of any patient due to a failure within any process/procedure or any equipment.

3. Proton Treatment Planning

1. Develop, in conjunction with clinical oncologists, other physicists and radiographers across the Christie Network, clinical protocols for the safe and effective clinical use of pre-treatment equipment.
2. Develop and maintain the clinical treatment planning systems and commission them for new applications particularly with respect to patients treated across the Christie network.
3. Operate, maintain and develop quality assurance procedures for pre-treatment simulation and treatment planning systems within the ISO 9001-2015 quality system to ensure equipment and procedures are fit for clinical use.
4. Ensure effective multidisciplinary team working in pre-treatment simulation and planning by working closely with clinical oncologists, therapy radiographers, engineers and dosimetrists.
5. Operate on a rota with other physicists to deal with problems arising with pre-treatment simulation and clinical treatment plans.
6. Implement new and improved treatment planning techniques so that patients gain maximum benefit from the available equipment throughout the Christie network.
7. Produce or independently check highly complex radiotherapy treatment plans, based on the evaluation of anatomical and clinical information using a highly complex treatment planning system.

4. Proton Dosimetry and Quality Control

1. Maintain, develop and participate in calibration and quality assurance of highly complex proton beam delivery systems and other radiotherapy equipment (including R&V system) within the ISO 9001-2015 quality system, analysing current practice against recommendations of Professional bodies and proposing changes to practice and procedures.
2. Operate on a rota with other physicists to deal with issues relating to the dosimetric performance of radiotherapy equipment raised by radiographer and engineering staff, providing scientific advice or performing measurements as appropriate.
3. Investigate and resolve highly complex technical and dosimetric problems highlighted through ongoing quality control measurements and reported equipment faults, analysing oral and written information along with measurements in order to provide advice or identify any remedial action.
4. Manage, plan and perform acceptance testing and commissioning measurements for highly complex radiotherapy equipment, allocating tasks and supervising physicists collecting the data required to ensure efficient and safe implementation into clinical service.
5. Perform highly accurate routine and non-routine quality control of the treatment delivery and other radiotherapy equipment to ensure that they remain within clinically acceptable tolerances.

5. Proton Imaging and Verification

1. Participate in the introduction of new imaging equipment and techniques.
2. Work closely with the radiotherapy department to give scientific advice on imaging protocols to ensure effective use of imaging equipment.
3. Maintain and develop systems for quality assurance of imaging devices, within the ISO 9001-2015 Quality System to ensure equipment and procedures are fit for clinical use. Investigate and resolve technical and image quality problems highlighted through quality control tests.
4. Perform, and develop new techniques for, the verification of proton therapy treatment plans.
5. Perform in-vivo dosimetry measurements on patients as required, in accordance with agreed protocols laid down by the Department. Participate in the development of the in-vivo dosimetry service.

6. Teaching and Training

1. Supervise clinical scientists, dosimetrists, engineers and radiographers within the radiotherapy physics group as required.
2. Lecture and train clinical scientists, dosimetrists, engineers, radiographers, specialist registrars and others and assist in the organisation of the department\’s teaching programmes.

7. Research and Development

1. Perform highly complex, clinically relevant, radiotherapy research and development.
2. Operationally manage research projects to achieve identified deliverables.
3. Supervise research projects carried out by trainee and research physicists, treatment planning radiographers, dosimetrists and post graduate students up to PhD level.
4. Publish research in internationally recognised peer reviewed research journals and to communicate research through national and international conferences.
5. Participate in identifying external funding opportunities and the writing of grant applications.
6. Assist the establishment and maintenance of R&D collaborations with other radiotherapy physics groups, universities, and commercial organisations.
7. Provide scientific support to clinical oncologists participating in local, national and international trials.
8. Maintain an up-to-date personal knowledge of national and international radiotherapy physics practice in order to identify improvements to the service.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• HCPC Registered Clinical Scientist
• Honours degree in an appropriate physical science
• Postgraduate Degree (e.g., Master\’s level and above)

Desirable criteria

• PhD or equivalent evidence of research training
• Corporate membership of IPEM or other equivalent professional bodies

Experience

Essential criteria

• Appropriate experience in Radiotherapy for satisfying Medical Physics Expert status

Desirable criteria

• Proton treatment planning / dosimetry experience
• Planning/implementation of new developments
• Research experience
• Imaging experience
• Experience of software development
• Certified as a Medical Physics Expert

Skills

Essential criteria

• Multi-disciplinary team working
• Use of radiation monitoring and scanning equipment, precise working
• Use of treatment planning software
• Scientific report writing/track record of dissemination/publication of scientific work in journals and conferences.
• Data analysis including use of Excel (or similar packages)
• Clear and articulate communicator of complex scientific concepts

Desirable criteria

• Research skills

Knowledge

Essential criteria

• Extensive knowledge of radiotherapy physics
• Extensive knowledge of relevant legislation, national standards, professional guidelines (e.g., IRR\’17, IRMER 2017, ISO:9001:2015)
• Understanding of the clinical role of radiotherapy
• Understanding of the hazards posed by the clinical use of radiation
• Understanding of risk assessment.

Desirable criteria

• Knowledge of one or more computer programming languages (e.g., Python, C#)

Values

Essential criteria

• Ability to demonstrate the organisational values and behaviours

Other

Essential criteria

• Willing to participate in a shift rota including working unsocial hours

The closing date for this post may be extended if there are insufficient applicants or brought forward if there is a high volume of applicants.

We want to ensure that everyone who works at the Christie or uses our services is welcomed, valued and treated with dignity and respect. The Christie values diversity and is committed to ensuring equal opportunities for all and fair representation across the organisation at all levels. In support of these commitments, we particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and other ethnic minority people and people with disabilities for this post. Appointment will be only on merit.

We are committed to creating a balanced and diverse workforce. As such we welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds. Together we will foster inclusion and tackle inequity and health inequalities in cancer care.

As users of the disability confident scheme, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the vacancy.

All positions within the Christie are subject to the receipt of satisfactory written references, medical clearance and evidence of your Right to Work in the UK. Some roles will require a Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check. Please note if you are successfully appointed to a post with this Trust, you will be required to pay for your own DBS Disclosure.

By applying for this post you are agreeing to The Christie NHS Foundation Trust transferring the information contained in this application to its preferred applicant management system. If you are offered a job information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system. Please note, all communication regarding your application will be made via email, please ensure you check your junk/spam folders as emails are sometimes filtered there.

If you have not heard from us within four weeks of the closing date, I regret that on this occasion your application will have been unsuccessful.

The Inter-Authority Transfer (IAT) process is a critical and beneficial component of ESR and will form part of the recruitment process. In the event that you are successful following interview your previous NHS employment data, if applicable will be transferred from your current / most recent employer.

Overseas candidates wishing to apply for this position and who would require immigration sponsorship, may wish to self-assess the likelihood of obtaining a Certificate of Sponsorship for the post on the UKVI website.

You should be aware the Trust operates a No Smoking Policy and therefore employees are not permitted to smoke at work.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

Documents to download

• Job Description and Person Specification (PDF, 216.1KB)
• The Christie Values and Behaviours (PDF, 919.5KB)
• Strategy Brochure (PDF, 1.0MB)
• Travel to The Christie (PDF, 3.8MB)

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