Adult ADHD Clinical Nurse Specialist

Key Responsibilities:

• Clinical assess, diagnose, plan, implement and evaluate interventions/treatments and care for service users.
• Complete a thorough risk assessment of the service users to ensure that any risk is minimised as per Trust policy.
• Administer and interpret diagnostic questionnaires e.g. DIVA.
• Work as a non-medical prescriber and titrate and initiate patients diagnosed with ADHD onto clinically appropriate medication.
• Provide follow-up appointments, face to face or via remote consultation.
• Liaise with patients, referrers, Clinical Commissioning Groups and carers.
• Provide advice and guidance to colleagues within the Trust and externally via various communication methods, e.g. Consultant Connect.
• Support the admin staff with clinical enquiries regarding ADHD referrals.
• Maintain relevant clinical and pharmaceutical knowledge, critically appraise and apply information to practice.
• Screen all referrals for clinical appropriateness within the agreed time scale.
• Support service users to adopt recovery strategies that promote their wellbeing, healthy lifestyle, independence and self-care.
• Facilitate post-diagnostic psychoeducation workshops when required.
• Promote the involvement of families in care, reflecting their diversity, equality and rights to ensure their needs are met.
• Maintain accurate and timely clinical records in accordance with Trust Policy, collating relevant data, quality assurance and timely submission of clinical update reports working closely with the Clinic Lead/Senior Clinical Nurse Specialists and MDT.
• Respond to complaints and/or compliments within the allocated timeframe.
• Work with the Lead/Senior Clinical Nurse Specialists and MDT to ensure that systems and processes are in place to support marketing activities.
• Independently assess suitability for pharmacological treatment, discussing treatment options, side-effects and risks, and providing treatment initiation and titration until maintenance dose is achieved.
• Offer advice and guidance to G.P.s and internal colleagues who contact the service via Consultant Connect or Nominated Clinician.

COMMUNICATION

• Communicate the patients' health status using appropriate terminology, format, and technology.
• Use expert communication skills to provide accurate information to service users and their families and carers in a sensitive and professional manner.
• Demonstrate sensitive communication strategies to ensure that service users are fully informed and consent to care/treatment.
• Act as an advocate for service users.
• Establish effective communication and actively promote health education that may include providing alternative materials to support service users and carers in making decisions regarding their care and treatment.
• Liaise and communicate effectively with multidisciplinary team, CCG and G.P.s across health and social boundaries.
• Make accurate and effective handovers to medical/nursing staff.
• Maintain accurate and contemporaneous records of health assessment, implementation and evaluation of management and therapeutic interventions.

CLINICAL LEADERSHIP

• Demonstrate positive role modelling of the profession.
• Provide the highest standard of professional and expert clinical leadership that influences advanced level of nursing practice in mental health.
• Support staff development within their clinical and professional competencies and provide supervision to staff and students as required.
• Encourage other staff to self-assess their knowledge and skills and challenge actions that are not in the interest of service users or the public.
• Evaluate and review service provisions and innovations contextualised against contemporary healthcare policy relevant to the clinical area.
• Contribute to the consultation and engagement of service users in planning and developing service.
• Contribute to the development, implementation and evaluation of evidenced based policies, procedures and guidelines relevant to the care of people with mental health conditions.
• Encourage staff members to utilise resources to attain and maintain high levels of medical and nursing care.
• Promote and develop the public health and wellbeing role of mental health nursing.
• Participate in CAG and organisational decision-making, interpret variations in outcomes data and information systems to improve quality in practice.
• Have current knowledge of the CAG financing system and its impact on the delivery of care.
• Participate in clinical governance initiatives as agreed by the directorate clinical governance committee.
• Lead the development of advanced mental health nursing practice in line with local and national agendas.

PROFESSIONAL

• Work in accordance with our Code of Conduct and ensure that standards of practice are upheld.
• Receive regular clinical and managerial supervision.
• Maintain and develop own professional knowledge and competence by keeping informed of advances and research pertaining to mental health care, ADHD and Autism.
• Participate in clinical and managerial supervision of junior clinical staff.
• Engage in self-reflection, audit and quality initiatives thus contributing to the development and improvement of the clinical services.
• Initiate training and assessment of competencies to appropriate members of staff.
• Contribute to the development, implementation and evaluation of evidenced based policies, procedures and guidelines relevant to the care of people with mental health needs, autism and ADHD.

AUDIT/RESEARCH

• Disseminate information, research and audit findings and lead on developments of advancing best practice at local and national level.
• Participate in legislative and policy-making activities that influence health services/practices.
• Work with the MDT to develop outcome measures that demonstrate improvements in the delivery of healthcare programmes.
• Act as a role model in the observance and delivery of equality and diversity of good practice.
• Advocate for quality and cost-effective healthcare.
• Promote, implement and evaluate effective evidence-based practice.
• Support or initiate, participate and disseminate clinical research and audit results through presentation to professional groups and publication.

POLICIES

• Adhere to Trust policies and procedures.
• Maintain a safe environment for yourself and others, taking reasonable care to avoid injury.
• Co-operate with the Trust to meet statutory requirements.
• Provide statements regarding untoward incidents, as requested by line manager.
• Ensure all staff attend Trust mandatory training annually.
• Maintain registration and competencies and comply with Code of Professional Conduct and related documents.
• Sustain and improve own professional development by personal study, work-based learning activities, and by using opportunities provided by the Trust.
• Keep up to date with legal matters that may arise during course of duty.

TRAINING

• The role will also be required to take on specific roles within the team based on their particular interests, expertise and training.
• Demonstrable skills in communication with hard to engage service users and other patients.
• Ability to work in a trauma-informed, recovery-focused way.
• Ability to assess the patient motivation and health literacy for learning and maintenance of health-related activities using principles of change and stages of behaviour change.